I have been reviewing music for more than 35 years now, which means I am offered a lot of material to write about, way more than I can ever work through (unless I win the lottery or someone wants to pay me for this), so when I look at an email offering me a band I have never heard of there must be something which makes me take a second look. That is the case here, as when I saw the album title there was something about it which made me wonder if that was the way they were thinking, what on earth would they sound like? This is a duo, with Tomás Robertson providing all the music and Stephen Murray the vocals, and it is not only the album title which is heady stuff as there is a power and drama here which takes us back some thirty years to the early 90’s. I like the way that the production is also not too clean and commercial but instead also evokes a feeling of that time.
Musically, this is inspired by early ’90s doom (Corrupted, Winter, Esoteric) which has then be combined with the same period’s raw approach to black metal (especially Darkthrone), and then thrown into the world of cinematic soundscapes (William Basinski, Henryk Górecki, Coil). Stephen Murray’s vocals are at the same level as the guitars and pounding drums so they can difficult to decipher, but the importance of their work is to show how in their world it all comes together and is of equal import. It is crunchy, powerful, and incredibly reminiscent of the early 90’s when music like this was still in the underground and yet to find commercial acceptance, and that the cover is in black and white is totally in keeping with what is contained inside. This is the soundtrack to nightmares, a world where there is little in the way of illumination, just the darkness of the cave and what lies within. Compelling and interesting stuff.
Rating: 7/10
Links:
https://locustsandhoney.bandcamp.com/
https://hypaethralrecords.com/