There's a certain art to being in a drone-doom band. It's all about crafting the mystique, something to keep people listening to the slow-mo, cavernous music that sounds like it was recorded in a mausoleum through a sound board made of dinosaur skulls. And even though Tombs of the Blind Drugged is only a four-track EP (technically 3, since the fourth is a Discharge cover) it still spans 40 minutes in length and carries a fairly heady concept, detailing a fictionalized version of history in which a sect of the knights Templar adopt esoteric drug rites and rituals from the Hashashin. Given the generally unintelligible nature of the vocals, I'm going to just take the band's word for it.
This kind of stuff is always weird to review, since I'm of the opinion that concept albums are fine, as long as the concept doesn't get in the way of the songwriting. But since this genre is built on sacrificing accessibility in favour of atmosphere and high concept, can I honestly penalize Moss for it
Ultimately, no. While droning doom metal isn't something I listen to on a daily basis, when I'm in the right mood, it fits the bill perfectly. Production-wise, Moss has the genre down pat: hyper distorted, languid and menacing guitar work paired off with shambling but nuanced drumming. It's the kind of sound I'm sure the monkeys heard in 2001: A Space Odyssey when they first laid hands on that black monolith.
And if you listen closely enough, there IS a sense of direction over the course of these 10 minute+ songs. The title track takes the tempo up a half-step, the vocals move slightly forward in the mix, and the album takes on an almost active vibe compared to the layers of gauzy distortion and distance found on album opener, "Skeletal Keys."
Just past the halfway mark of "Tombs of the Blind Drugged," the bottom drops out and a droning organ emerges, and the track falls into a chilly, ghostly funeral plod with only minimal drumming before emerging into a single, clean synth line.
"Eternal Return" sees the climax of the EP, with its ragged, feedback ridden guitar work, and vocals that border on intelligible, pushed to the front of the mix, before the track trails off into silence.
As an added bonus, Moss included a cover of "Maimed and Slaughtered" by Discharge, stretching the track out mercilessly, pulling the guitar riffs apart and deconstructing the once tightly-wound punk vibe into something almost resembling a black metal tune just after the guitarist dosed himself with heroin and has started to nod in and out. And just when you figure the band is just going to BWOOOOAHHHHHH the song to death, a keening guitar line interjects just enough to wake the listener up. It's not for everyone, and will most certainly piss off most Discharge fans, but it was a fascinating look at Moss' ability to play with atmosphere and reinterpret metal to meet their own needs.
Bottom Line: In short, Tombs of the Blind Drugged is utterly uncompromising. Perhaps too much for its own good, but in an era where "extremity" in metal has become the fodder of inadvertent self-parody, it's nice to see bands out there that are willing to commit so wholly to constructing an aesthetic that's designed to unsettle and unnerve, even if it means alienating even their core audience. That said, if acts like Sunn O))) bore you to death, this won't do anything to convert you. For what it is, though, it's a hugely solid effort. |
