What’s up, guys? It’s Waldo again to highlight some upcoming releases for you guys. Let’s pecking do this!
In 2017, Bell Witch released the doom masterpiece Mirror Reaper and now they are back with a collaboration with dark folk project Aerial Ruin on Stygian Bough Volume 1 released on Profound Lore. Brought on as a guest spot on Mirror Reaper, Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin originally wanted to do a split release, then decided that a collab would be better suited to their own unique sounds. This is a funeral doom effort for certain and the talents of both parties here definitely lend themselves to each other. Haunting and beautiful, dark and full of mourning, this takes the listener on a journey through vast expanses of music. Recalling vibes of Candlemass and Ulver at times helps distract from the quiet/pretty to loud/ugly dynamic that COULD (but doesn’t) seem trite and repetitive. I’m pecking digging this, and the subtitle Volume 1 hints that there will be more. This will appeal to Bell Witch’s crowd and hopefully shed some much-deserved light on Aerial Ruin. Well done. 8 Fucking Pecks.
Experimental death metal dealers Pyrrhon are good at challenging any listener. Their latest effort Abscess Time is essentially a slab of “fuck off” metal. Angular, spazzy and filled with chaos, this is the sound of a band’s collective mental state jumping off a building while at the same time falling down a flight of stairs. Hellish parts give way to… well, different hellish parts. There IS cohesiveness in all of this chaos though, Pyrrhon can write riffs and songs, they just don’t care if you understand them, hate them or like them. Doug Moore’s vocals are razor sharp and grating as peck on this. The drums and guitar seem to be all over the place, but also in synch with each other. Any casual listener will run screaming at the sound of this, but that’s why it’s brilliant. The absolute brazenness of this release makes me dig it, but as a whole, this is a great (if not accosting) record. Beak yes! 8 Fucking Pecks.
Alright, until next time… Waldo out!
