First Impressions
We are plunging incredibly deep from the very beginning.
This was unlike anything I've listened to... ever? I'm not sure. It's incredibly hard to describe, and you better believe it took quite a few listens to even be able to digest it in a pleasant way. But once it started to click, there was something about that I just couldn't stop coming back to.
The album is very clearly split into two sections. The first is the absolutely haunting and disturbing heavy tracks, which consist of a blanket of droning synths, strings and guitars, and harrowing screams over top. The closest thing I can equate these to are if doom metal decided to forego the drums and go fully ambient.
These songs are a proper trek and challenge to go through. They can be unpleasant, harsh, too oppressive. But honestly I think that's what makes them so entrancing. Somehow, despite the absolute jarring nature of them. I cannot deny that there is a certain kind of entrancing quality they have. They are so unique in the way they present their aggression. It's like you're in the middle of a horror movie, but somehow it's not scary.
Mental Shed is a ballsy way to start the album, with no introduction, straight into the horrific nature of the album. I will say, even now, it's a little hard to wade through the song. Where I think this style peaks is the second of this style.
Closet Door in the Room Where She Died is... kind of incredible. Maybe I'm getting a little too high on these concepts. But there was something about it that absolutely hit for me.
Perhaps it's the lyrics, which are by far the most comprehensible in the album. And they leave no ambiguity to the fact that you are listening to the ghost of this woman that's filled with so much grief and rage. It's absolutely horrific, but I don't know, it has something I cannot describe that just makes me want to stay there.
Not to mention the terrifying music video. Which again feels like a horror movie, it matches the unsettling vibe of the song a little too well in my opinion.
Well, those two songs are nightmares, what about the other three? Well, for every yin there is a yang. It's very clear the jarring nature of the album is intentional. As after each harsh song we get a song that is the complete opposite.
Oracle By Severed Head was my favorite song on first listen. This has the most "logical" structure out of any song here. The main hook for me was the rhythm, which feels so misplaced that I honestly have trouble knowing whether it has a set pattern or if it is genuinely random. Either way, it's got an ethereal quality, that mixed with Toby's vocals feels almost angelic. But it's not all comfort either. It doesn't let you feel like you can just drift away with it. There is some part that is still keeping you on edge, this goes on throughout the entire album.
I will say, the absolute best part of the album for me is the ending of this song, where the violin comes it. It's so violent, so sharp and quick with it's notes, but it's beautiful. I wish I'd heard more of it through the record.
The last song I have to highlight is Blind Creature of Slime. Now THIS one grew on me so much. The main thing to point out here is absolutely Toby's vocals. I did not know this man could sing so high and with so much pain. It honestly feels like a reward after wading through the rest of the mostly chill album. It's a proper moment of unfiltered intensity. And the lyrics once again elevate it so much. They're filled with so much heartbreak and rage. It's honestly a perfect way to end the album.
Now, I don't want to sound like I'm just incessantly shilling for this album. While I've talked about it at length, I'll make it clear that I probably will not be returning to it often. I think Mental Shed and Automatic Writing are way too long, and Automatic Writing especially just puts a halt to everything in my opinion, I did not like it.
But I just found this album so interesting. I saw Toby Driver call it "Liminal Metal" and that represents it perfectly. It's haunting, scary, ethereal. It makes you feel like you're in a state of stasis for it's entire length.
Ranking
Oracle By Severed Head
Blind Creature Of Slime
Closet Door in the Room Where She Died
Mental Shed
Automatic Writing
Rating
6/10
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