Bentham’s Head – Blood, Salt and Ash 8.5/10
Hailing from Naarm Australia Bentham’s Head has just released their debut album. Blood Salt and Ash. A massive undertaking that combines the barrenness of Van Diemen’s Land, the intellectual musings of Phillip K Dick and the Congolese Jungle
Riddle with Philosophy and the Journey Every track on Blood Salt and Ash is a unique sonic soundscape with its own tale to tell told through the myriad of vocal styles employed by Conor from clean to tortured as he leads you through a sonic soundscape that is both beautiful and harrowing. Employing the heaviest moments of doom, Post black metal sludge and the wonderful expressions of progressive metal the musicianship is excellent and able to meet the demands of the music and the styles that they delve into.
“New Path ‘’contains some excellent time changes and the middle bridge of led by bass and drums lets you know just how heavy that rhythm section really is complimented by a subtle guitar solo. The progressive edges do not overshadow the sheer power of the music but add an extra dimension to the music making it a dynamic and challenging listen at times it is a sparse soundscape akin to the outback as on the electronica-filled Dark Signals at others it is a melodious moment of beauty with the guitar solo on Bangala Before it selves into the heaviest of sections and progression. It must be said that the lead guitar work of ick And Chris is exemplary. Oran is seven minutes of punishing intensity.
Blood, Salt and Ash is as heavy as it is unique, and daring, its use of multiple vocal styles pushes the music forward into new realms of idea and purpose. Boundless amid it execution it is a landmark debut that demands your attention .
Funeral – Gospel OF Bones 8/10
Since 1991 Norway’s Funeral have been the pioneers and icons of the heaviest of genres Funeral Doom. Their music embodies the power of restraint and sorrow made audible their eighth release Gospel Of Bones is another landmark in their musical journey of the creation of the heaviest music possible.
Gospel of Bones is a heartbreaking experience. From its opener Too Young To Die, the epic Procession of Misery, To Break All Hearts Of Men and its conclusion, Three Dead Men, each note, every lyric is torn from despair, purposeful and driven by emotion. Funeral epitomises the notion of what is Funeral Doom with huge heavy riffs that are left to linger ringing in the ears and words to ponder one’s destiny, a catharsis of the soul and individual, that is held together by a solid rhythm section that provides the depth to some monumental moments. The classical intonations are an integral part of the song and not just to ad drama; the keys sing a symphony of loneliness and sorrow that etches the power of the music on the psyche.
Ambitious and unbound by the constraints of the genre. Procession of Misery is an experience unlike no other, haunting and personal, the symphonies littered with despair and faint rays of light. There is direction and purpose in Gospel of Bones, a cyclical journey entailing both life and inevitability. An elegy that is transcendent both beautiful and harrowing.
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