P.H.O.B.O.S. have been around since 2000, distorting, mechanizing and industrializing doom metal since their inception. Over three LPs, two EPs and a split with Blut Aus Nord, they’ve developed a sound that has come to be more defined by its industrial elements than its doom metal base. On their latest album, Phlogiston Catharsis, the power trio channel Godflesh, Drug Honkey and a touch of dark psychedelia in an atmospheric, menacing fashion.
Take new track “Aljannashid” as an example: rumbling electronics are met with an industrial beat and half-sung, half-chanted vocals that border on ritualistic. Through layers of shifting electronics, noise and synthesizers, the mechanical beat remains, driving the listener into a trance. Take it for a spin yourself, and don’t forget to pre-order Phlogiston Catharsis if you like what you hear.
