…Isolating the quintessence: WOLVSERPENT – ‘Perigea Antahkarana’

Pushing their way through the spheres of terra, aqua, aer, and ignis and drifting into the void beyond for their Relapse Records debut, Wolvserpent have reimagined, refined, and re-recorded their excellent 2012 demo, ‘Perigaea' (review HERE). The end result, ‘Perigea Antahkarana’, finds the Boise, Idaho duo of Blake Green and Brittany McConnell adding depth and layers to what was already a stunning release. Not simply content to re-record for the sake of attaining a “better” production, the band has, to a degree, altered their demo’s compositions and sequencing for ‘Perigea Antahkarana’, especially on the latter half of the album. As if sensed through precognition or recalled from a sedated sleep-state, moments of ‘Perigea Antahkarana’ are familiar to those who have listened to the demo, but there are still segments constructed from nothing and suffused with the essence of the album’s former incarnation.

Album opener “Threshold:Gateway” is instantly recognizable as “Perigaea I” from the band’s demo. Like its predecessor, this opening track could be a field recording from a windswept wasteland beyond the physical realm. It’s nearly four minutes of contemplation balanced precariously between an uneasy calm and a comfortable tension. At just under the four minute mark—a mere fraction of the album’s runtime—it doesn’t take the listener long to be initiated into Wolvserpent’s explorations of the classical elements of fire, water, air, and earth. Also retaining much of its original form is the album’s second track ‘Within the Light of Fire’. As with the demo version, ‘Within the Light of Fire’ is the bluntest, most overtly abrasive track of the album. The eerie violin tremolo of McConnell opens the track and remains embedded deep within the heart of the song allowing the riffs and guttural wails of Green to writhe from within the conflagration. “In Mirrors of Water” is the calm following the storm, a serene soundscape belied by the mournful strings of McConnell. Here, Wolvserpent have dug deeper into their own composition and have extended the track for an additional ten minutes of music that eventually evolves from a pulsating, kraut-rock drone to a frantic, blackened frenzy.

The remaining two tracks, “A Breath in the Shade of Time” and “Concealed Among the Roots and Soil”, are less recognizable than the first half of the album when compared to the demo. In fact, the songs have been broken down into their base elements, some of which have been removed, and reassembled into two complete, yet new, wholes. In almost every instance Wolvserpent has refined and improved their compositions, but it is lamentable that what was once “Perigaea IV” was so drastically broken down and reassembled, losing the sublime, transcendent beauty of the track’s ambient intro. Despite the vast difference “A Breath in the Shade of Time” is still a stellar tune, and the differences merely contribute to the vitality and replay value of the ‘Perigaea’ demo. Album closer “Concealed Among the Roots and Soil” borrows elements from the final two tracks of the demo and ultimately brings the listener round full circle to the cawing crows and crackling fire of “Threshold:Gateway” thus ending the listener’s journey.

In almost every respect ‘Perigea Antahkarana’ is an improvement over the seedling that was the ‘Perigaea’ demo. The band’s commitment to perfection has yielded one of the year’s most unique and powerful albums, particularly for travelers seeking dark roads, bad trips, or heady introspection. And while ‘Perigea Antahkarana’ isn’t completely new, the album and the demo offer journeys that are divergent enough to warrant checking out both. Wolvserpent’s latest may not be for everyday listening, but it certainly fills the void that is left untouched by anything lacking the sheer beauty and terror of ‘Perigea Antahkarana’.

Words: Steve Miller
(Originally published at Temple of Perdition)

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…WINDHAND – ‘Soma’

With their highly anticipated second full-length Richmond, Virginia’s Windhand hold fast to the formula firmly established on their ‘Practice Space Demo’ and their self-titled debut, and continue their mission to envelop the listener in an impenetrable wall of distortion thus potentiating narcotic and psychotropic effects. Like its predecessors, ‘Soma’ roars with an earth-churning rumble of seismic proportions that is only partially kept in check by the percussive timing of Ryan Wolfe, Dorthia Cottrell’s wails from within the maelstrom, and occasional fluidic blasts of lead guitar. For the band’s first outing for Relapse Records they stick close to what they know and have released a worthy, if not similar album to their self-titled debut.

With only six tracks and a runtime of well over an hour ‘Soma’ is irrefutably a monster of an album. And while no track quite reaches the heights of self-titled album closer “Winter Sun” the band still manages to craft individual and unique tunes that undulate and writhe with an insufferable heaviness all their own. Though there are similarities to the band’s earlier work, particularly in heft and tone, it would be a mistake to simply label ‘Soma’ as “‘Windhand II’”.

The band has taken a few detours and branched out enough to keep things both vital and interesting. The fourth track, “Evergreen”, is a somber, acoustic number that puts the spotlight completely on Cottrell who also plays guitar on this track. Though “Evergreen” is stylistically out place, it fits right in contextually and offers a brief respite before “Cassock” lays waste to everything in its path. Like a giant trudging its way across the earth, “Cassock” hasn’t a care for who it crushes underfoot by featuring the band’s heaviest, most sinister low-end riffs. The album closes with “Boleskine”, an epic, mesmerizing track that accounts for nearly half of the album’s runtime.

Windhand have ultimately crafted an album on par with their excellent debut, though ‘Soma’ is colder, darker, and heavier. Fans of their earlier work will undoubtedly gravitate toward their newest release and for good reason—tidal waves of distortion, feedback harmonizing, acoustic guitars, and Cottrell’s vocals. ‘Soma’ is uncompromisingly heavy and Windhand have further developed their unique style of doom, albeit incrementally.

Words: Steve Miller
(Originally published at Temple of Perdition)

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…Getting to know Satan: DIRE FATE – ‘Ritual/Rehearsal MMXI’ Demo

Dire Fate first came to my attention earlier this year with their excellent contribution to the split with countrymen and fellow traditional doom cohorts Rote Mare. This little gem, ‘Ritual/Rehearsal MMXI’ demo, though recorded and officially released in 2011 has been given a wider circulation through the band’s official Bandcamp page. Based on their three tracks from the Rote Mare split the bar was set particularly high for the band and, without reservation, I can say that my expectations for their earlier demo recordings weren’t dashed. ‘Ritual/Rehearsal MMXI’ reveals the band’s quest to tread the traditional doom path while incorporating melodicism and a unique, dismal atmosphere—a prerequisite for crafting memorable and enduring doom.

Each of the three tracks of ‘Ritual/Rehearsal MMXI’ are singular exercises in arcane rites emanating dark and foreboding vibes suitable for raising the dead or conversing with demons. “Ah Satan… (Do You Know Him?)” is a Faustian tale of life extended beyond death through the treachery of a pact with the devil. This is straight-up old school doom with enough tempo changes to keep things interesting. Chant-like backing vocals and a tormented cry from the netherworld briefly accent the main vocals of Phillip D. Atropos whose voice is not too dissimilar from Bauhaus’ Peter Murphy. The remaining two tracks, “Cast the Spell” and “Spire of War”, continue the band’s allegiance to the dark arts of doom by spinning tales of near forgotten magic and the invocation of a god-like entity—an entity that should have remained dormant—whose lust for war sows nothing but death and destruction.

‘Ritual/Rehearsal MMXI’ is a killer demo that incorporates the best elements of traditional doom—ominous riffs, expressive vocals, and an unwavering devotion to creating a heavy and foreboding atmosphere through their compositions alone. Fans of traditional doom, particularly in the vein of Rote Mare or Funeral Circle’s self-titled album, won’t be disappointed with Dire Fate’s recently unearthed demo. Hopefully the band is on track for some studio time in the near future because their demo and split contributions are simply not enough.

Words Steve Miller
(Originally published at Temple of Perdition)

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…Come ye faithful, meet thy maker: SAINT VITUS – ‘C.O.D.’

Saint Vitus’ seemingly misunderstood and long out-of-print sixth full-length, ‘C.O.D.’, has finally been dug up, dragged from its grave, and remastered and reanimated with the addition of two lost tracks courtesy of Season of Mist. Maligned by many—including main songwriter Dave Chandler—and revered by few, ‘C.O.D.’ is clearly the black sheep of the Saint Vitus discography, an outlier that has divided fans and critics from its inception. And sure, the one-off effort with Chritus Linderson at the mic is distinguished from the band’s prior work due to a step-up in the production department and a playing time that essentially dwarfs their other releases, ‘C.O.D.’ is nevertheless a masterpiece in its own right and an album whose “failure” ultimately paved the way for the reunion with original vocalist Scott Reagers and the recording of the band’s magnum opus ‘Die Healing’. But make no mistake…‘C.O.D.’ rocks and it rocks fucking hard.

Remastered or not, ‘C.O.D.’ has always sounded great. While the leap in production value from ‘V’ to ‘C.O.D’ is apparent, the band hardly transitioned to a clean, radio-friendly polish. Chandler’s guitar still rips and his solos claw and leave marks all over the album accompanied by Mark Adams’ doom-as-fuck basslines. Probably the most noticeable improvement over the band’s previous albums is the sound of the drums. Acosta’s drums are heavier and more prominent in the mix which lends an unprecedented barbarian heft to the twelve tracks of the album proper. Few bands have so effortlessly transitioned from vocalist-to-vocalist as Saint Vitus and the standalone release featuring Linderson is arguably one of the band’s finest.

With over an hour’s worth of doom-and-gloom ‘C.O.D.’ covers a lot of ground and includes many of Saint Vitus’ most memorable and unique tracks. Following a brief and moody intro is the anthemic call to arms “Children of Doom”. Here Chandler’s guitar bleeds and wails throughout the track while Linderson presides over his flock of lost souls while reciting the riddle of doom. The third track, “Planet of Judgement”, has the lone distinction of being credited to the entire band with words penned by Linderson and Acosta. Not to dismiss the individual songwriting talents of Chandler, but “Planet of Judgement” is easily one of the band’s strongest tracks. The main impact of “Planet of Judgement” not only comes from Chandler’s memorable riffs and mind-bending leads, but also from Linderson’s vocal melodies. The shift from an atonal, riff-following pattern to a forlorn, emotional delivery on the latter half of the track leaves a haunting and indelible impression on the listener. Other greats such as the hard rocker “Shadow of a Skeleton”, the woeful crawl of “Plague of Man”, and the Joy Division-esque “Get Away” have never sounded better.

As an added bonus the reissue of ‘C.O.D.’ includes two bonus tracks, “To Breed a Soldier” and “The Chameleon”. The two tracks, originally recorded as demos for the follow-up to ‘C.O.D.’, give a glimpse into what could have been had things worked out between Chandler, Linderson, and their label at the time. Production-wise the two tracks are understandably rougher than the rest of ‘C.O.D.’ and the vocals of Linderson are more dynamic and consistent with his later work with Lord Vicar and Goatess. Chandler hasn’t missed a beat on these unearthed tracks as he seems to strangle the life from his protesting guitar on the squalling, fuzz-drenched lead of “To Breed a Soldier”. “The Chameleon” is classic, mid-paced Vitus that also features Chandler’s signature wah abuse and the solid rhythm section of Adams and Acosta.

The re-release of ‘C.O.D.’ has been long overdue and Season of Mist has done an amazing job. The inclusion of two bonus tracks simply sweetens the deal. Personal preference in regards to vocalists within the Saint Vitus discography will always be a point of contention, but I find the Chritus-era to be second only to the band’s output with Scott Reagers. It’s too bad that Linderson’s tenure began and ended with ‘C.O.D.’, though his further involvement may have irreversibly altered the band’s trajectory thus depriving the masses of the excellent ‘Die Healing’ album.

Words Steve Miller
(Originally published at Temple of Perdition)

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