HIGH PRIEST OF SATURN - Son of Earth and Sky

This review was originally published on the magnificent Outlaws of the Sun webzine on January 9, 2016:

An intriguing and somehow ominous 2011 demo led to high expectations for this Norwegian quartet's first album. When it was eventually released, I remember one main criticism was that it was too one-dimensional and slow. So how did High Priest of Saturn respond on their follow-up?

By maintaining their carefully crafted identity, that's how. But don't be too hasty to judge, haters. You just don't know the band that well yet. Hopefully they aren't going anywhere anytime soon, so you might as well get used to them.

A careful listen suggests the band's familiar range of tempo is more dream-like than plodding, HPOS wrings every last drop of psychedelic essence from their creative cloth. While some doom bands

'Son of Earth and Sky' is an introspective album, the listener is carried along on a magic carpet through long instrumental passages made majestic through the use of Ole Kristian Malmedal's trademark organ. One lazy comparison you tend to see thrown at this band is to the likes of Blood Ceremony. Now, that's some pretty good company to keep but the comparison is totally inept here. Ole Kristian never treats the organ as a lead instrument, rather it's the smooth-running engine that powers the proverbial magic carpet on its psychedelic flight. While the instrument was right up front on the demo, it's now relatively subdued in the mix conjuring subliminal thoughts and moods.

If you're new to the band and you're looking for a place to dive in, look no further than the deep end grooves of "The Warming Moon" as the standout track here. I can't help but feel the band has hit it's stride here with their second full-length. High Priest of Saturn will never be known as a savage band, they have found a particular niche all their own of contemplative moonlight nights in ghostly congress. 'Son of Earth and Sky' is a succubal massage but don't expect to find any happy endings here.


'Son of Earth and Sky' will be released on February 26, 2016 by Svart Records.


Post-Script: A commentor on the Outlaws of the Sun webzine wanted to know if the vocals on this record were distorted like on the band's last LP. I replied: "I thought the demo vocals were smothered in echo, then I heard the LP and they were absolutely drenched. The production has kind of hit on a mid-point, where they're still echo-y but it isn't as pronounced as on their self-titled LP. Fairly thick echo but not necessarily distorted this time around."

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Tombstones - Red Skies & Dead Eyes (album review)

Cover artwork by Glyn Smyth.

One of the heaviest bands in the entire world is Norwegian trio, Tombstones (not to be confused with French trio Tombstone or Finnish trio Tombstoned).  I was introduced to the band when I picked up their third album, and Soulseller Records debut, 'Year of the Burial' [SSR-050] on a whim last summer.  Once I heard the album and got into it, I felt it flew a bit undeservedly under the radar.  I never reviewed the album here on PH, but I gave it a 4.5 star rating on my year in review feature.  The most overwhelming feature of 'Year of the Burial' was its heaviness.  It moved at a solid pace through six tracks of Black Sabbath riffs and solid drumming.  Their latest, 'Red Skies & Dead Eyes' [SSR-068] has only improved on the winning formula and captures a stronger sense of the band's unique identity.

Tombstones put their best foot forward with opening track "Black Moon" which takes the listener to three levels of heaviness.  The first level starts off during the opening pre-verse part of the song with a slippery riff that brings to mind Windhand's latest album.  But then, as though exposed from the underworld by violent earthquake, the main riff kicks in, heavy, chugging and meaning business.  Some strong vocal harmonies during the chorus lead into a third tier of heaviness and it's positively brain liquifying.  Seemingly caused by a sudden earth shift, the song starts to slide sideways towards the listener's own personal choppy doom.  It all happens so suddenly, one minute the earth is pushing upward in upheaval, the next it's sliding sideways.  "King of Daze" keeps the energy level high and the grooves tight, the song is like the meeting place between Conan and High on Fire, swampy in places, boisterous in others.

When talking about Tombstones heaviness, it would be easy to become lost in an ecstasy of similes and metaphor, throwing out such phrases as Atomic Weapon, Nuclear Warhead or Weapons of Mass Destruction, but "Obstfelder" takes me to a place and time before the splitting of the atom, but remains very much on the field of battle.  This 10 minute megalith draws immediately to mind the image of trench warfare.  It brings me to The Great War wherein soldiers on horseback fought alongside tanks, Enemy Aces circled the skies for the first time and U-Boats ensured that no place on earth was safe and there could never be a moment's rest from eternal vigilance.  The song is slow and muddy.  The danger of infection looms constantly.  This is the moment where the band fully embraces its own power, reveling in it, wallowing in it.  They become heavy-happy and the band have now become a danger to all around them.  It's easy to imagine how the band could become drunk on their own heaviness.  Just plug in, make a chord and slice away ... let it ring ... and ring ... and ring ... then chop away again.  In fact, it seems like the most natural approach in the whole world for a band this heavy to take.

"The Other Eye" continues those old battlefield feelings with a couple minute intro which sounds like it was lifted directly from the theater of conflict.  Much of the war torn atmosphere comes from the drums of Jørn Inge Woldmo, whose drumwork on the album as a whole is at different times atmospheric (not an easy feat to pull off), pummeling and downright groovy.  The song then spills out into an evil sounding Black Sabbath-like riff.  It's a phrase you may have heard a thousand times in doom reviews, but Ole Christian Helstad (bass / vocals) and Bjørn-Viggo Godtland (guitar / vocals) defy the odds by managing to keep it fresh with an unexpected twist or turn or two.  The title track whips things back up into an energetic frenzy once again with an all out vocal performance and a waltzy groove, played double time by Woldmo, bringing the album into its third phase and beginning to complete the circle.

'Red Skies & Dead Eyes' is on full streaming down on the player below, but it's not available for download from bandcamp, you're going to have to order it through Soulseller Records like I did, but don't worry, they're good people there.  You can also find the album on itunes, it's full of chubby riffs, chunky refrains and choppy atmospheres.

Highlights include: "Black Moon" and "Obstfelder"

Rating: 4.5/5


Total Run Time: 44:06

From: Oslo, Norway

Genre: Doom, Sludge

Reminds me of: Black Sabbath, Conan, Windhand, Yidhra

Release Date: October 9, 2013

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Spiral Shades - Hypnosis Sessions Demo (album review)

Spiral Shades represents the best of what the internet has to offer to the arts.  Filip Petersen, a musician from Norway who, on the strength of cover song videos uploaded to youtube, has garnered a solid cult following and parlayed that into a globe-spanning recording effort with a like-minded friend from India.  On youtube, he is called Deventy and his videos are well-known and well-loved in the world of doom metal.  Now, it appears, it's time for him and Khushal Bhadra (guitars, vocals) to "give back" to the genre.

Right off the  bat, Spiral Shades hit you with energy and power.  In some ways it's an unusual first strike, rather than building layers of ever increasing slow and heavy waves before launching into a fully formed composition as would be the typical doom thing to do, Spiral Shades just grab you and toss you into the deep end all at once.  But it's on this opening track, "Frustration" that you already begin to see how aptly named the band is as the riffs hammer, bend and curlicue in agonizing contortions ... and it sounds great!  Bhadra is Ozzy-like, sounding nearly like Christian Linderson of Goatess & Lord Vicar, etc., he does it with a good deal of skill and it never sounds strained or forced the way some Ozzyesque vocalists can be, but just a word of warning for listeners, don't expect a lot of variation in range, technique, melody or style.  "Frustration" sends a shock through the listener with its abrupt beginning, but before too long the band settles down into a sound which may soon become one of the more highly original and identifiable within the genre.

This duo also released a trio of preview songs on Soundcloud in the days and weeks leading up to 'Hypnosis Sessions' release.  "Illuminati" was the first of these that I heard.  Chandleresque hammer-ons, drums that build to a crashing climax and frothy electro static fuzz are married to a vocal that is every bit as Ozzy as it is inherently Indian with its steady vibratto melodies.  Spiral Shades have something unique going on here.  There are little bits and pieces that sound vaguely like doom bands that have come before, and only the best and most classic doom bands at that, however, the full compliment of elements can't help but congeal into something fantastically unique.

Spiral Shades distinguishes themselves by their high energy and virtuosic performances.  The guitars speak on this demo.  They speak in a language that is sophisticated and distinctive and they speak it in a loud and authoritative voice.  On this album the guitar is an instrument of interstellar / infernal communication, pulsating, twitching, convulsing, billowing, rending but never breaking.  "Wizardry" is perfectly named as a showcase of the band's guitar wizardry indeed.

Typically, songs are kept on the upper end of the doom speedometer, when Spiral Shades slows things down it's as a counterpoint to the headiness of the rest of the album, dragging you through the sewer as it were, perhaps for some perspective.  And though they're a faster band than most doom combos, their resonant sound rumbles speakers with the deepest, heaviest and slowest of them.

Doommeisters be forewarned, you're going to feel like an idiot if you miss out on this album and everyone's talking about it at the end of the year.  This is easily one of the best and certainly one of the most unique and distinctive doom albums of the year so far, and we're two thirds of the way through the year so that kind of phrase is beginning to take on some meaning.  The internet is a crazy place, where people do crazy things and get a lot of attention for no good reason ... but then on the flipside there are people like Petersen who, as Deventy, does his own thing, makes it interesting, gets a small amount of attention, but from the right kind of people, and parlays it into a demo album that can stand proudly next to the efforts of those who inspired him.  Then there are people like myself who take further notice ... and so on.  What does it all mean?  All I know is that this album could not and would not have been possible without the influence of the internet.  How is it possible to make an album with someone you've never met?  Let alone an excellent one!  I don't know, Spiral Shades do, they can show you how on the player below.

Highlights include: "Illuminati" and "Wizardry"

Rating: 4.5/5


Total Run Time: 54:14

From: Norway, India

Genre: Doom, Metal,

Reminds me of: Black Sabbath, Lord Vicar

Release Date: August 15, 2013

Spiral Shades on facebook

Spirits of the Dead - Rumours of a Presence (album review)

Norway's been on fire in the doom / stoner underground this year.  From Devil to High Priest of Saturn to Dunbarrow to Magister Templi to Brutus and now Spirits of the Dead, the quality of the Norse underground is as high as it is diverse (just look at this sampling!).  This should come as no surprise though.  The Western tradition of a Hellish underworld derives largely from Greek myths set in a place called Hades and Norse tradition of Hel, land of the dead.  It's from this world that we travel, along with four certain spirits, to the balmier climes of the land of Miðgarðr and this Norwegian quartet's latest album 'Rumours of a Presence'.  According to my intel, this is the band's third album, which 'sounds' about right due to the comfort level and commanding presence the band appears to wield on record (and it's not just a rumour).  Then again, this is my first exposure to the band which came about after a rather vociferous campaign of recommendations from a certain Fast n Bulbous reviewer, it finally came time to say "alright, alright already!  I'll check it out!"  So here we are.

First off, this is Rock with a classic feel but an updated sound, similar perhaps to everything else but unlike anything you've heard.  Spirits of the Dead are breaking molds, seeming to have hit upon a winning formula that separates them from the pack of Scandanavian Retro Rockers.  It's amazing, the more of these throw-back kind of bands I discover from Northern Europe, the more I'm amazed that they not only don't all sound alike, but they are all actually extremely unique and bring their own little something to the party.

For Spirits of the Dead, that little something is the ghost of the early Prog groups from the late sixties.  Bands like Barclay James Harvest, Motherlight, Vandergraaf Generator and Caravan are referenced here not so much in sound but in tone and mood.  It should be noted here that Spirits of the Dead's music wallows in darkness.  Moody nearly to a fault, the band is never afraid to drop the hammer down on moonlit instrumental segments while the drummer phases in and out of the listener's consciousness lightly tapping his drums and sinking into the shadows of the background.  In and around the dark moodiness are heavy passages that seem almost chaotic in comparison, despite their highly ordered (syncopated) composition.  It's like watching a pack of prey animals trying to sneak away from a pack of big cats under the moonlit grass of the Savannah.  They never quite make it off the plain alive, but all we see in the chaos are the grass blades whipping by this way and that, while a lot of furious activity takes place, obscured and out of focus.  This band has the ability to devastate a listener, leave them agape, let them think about it for awhile, then when they're about to recover to shake the shit out of them all over again.

"Rumours of New Presence" brings home that early album proggy feeling with a lighter or, should we say a more wistful touch.  Nearly Pink Floydian in feel, but never quite going down that route in terms of sound, it's a mood that largely takes over the second side of the album, lending an altogether folkier edge to the affair.  In fact, with the exception of "Red Death" there's hardly a heavy moment on Side B, although that song's undeniable crunchiness more than makes up for it.

It's an interesting and unexpected running order.  The opening trio of songs leads one to believe that this is an album with a one track mind, and that mind is set on rocking.  But when the record is flipped over, you realize that 'Rumours of a Presence' is actually two albums with one track minds, the second side set on folking around in a psychedelic manner.  On the balance, it's a good record and both sides deliver the high quality goods.  It's this touch of bipolar madness which makes it the perfect addition to the Paranoid library.

Highlights include: "Wheels of the World" and "Rumours of New Presence"

Rating: 4/5


Tracklist:
1). Wheels of the World (4:53)
2). Song of Many Reefs (6:55)
3). Golden Sun (4:30)
4). Dance of the Dead (1:35)
5). Rumours of New Presence (4:48)
6). Red Death (6:29)
7). Seaweed (4:07)
8). Oceanus (7:36)
Total Run Time: 40:46

Geir Thorstensen - Drums

Ole Øvstedal - Guitar

Ragnar Vikse - Vocal

Kristian Hultgren - Bass

From: Oslo, Norway

Genre: Hard Rock, Prog, Folk

Reminds me of: Barclay James Harvest, Brutus, Led Zeppelin, Vidunder, Year of the Goat

Release Date: June 25, 2013

Better Reviews:
Fast n Bulbous
Sludgelord
Sea of Tranquility

Official website
Spirits of the Dead on facebook

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Brutus - Behind the Mountains (album review)

Cover artwork by Maarten Donders

I first heard Norwegian retro rockin' stoner quintet Brutus when I found their video and put it on the Hour of Power about a month back.  You see folks, things like that are as much for my sake as they are for yours!  Since that time, the entire internet world hasn't been able to shut up about this band as anticipation began to build and the tension I felt towards ending that bleak period of my life that shall henceforth forever be known as "Brutus-less" was eating me up inside.  What's so amazing about these guys?  Aren't they just another Scandanavian retro rock band?  Yeah, basically, but also, not so much.  Permit me to try to demonstrate ...

Brutus just want to have fun, BUT, Brutus are also chased by demons; a darkness which they embrace and add fully to their music.  Thankfully however, that darkness doesn't manifest itself in morbid navel-gazing and boring pip-squeaky melancholia.  Even as the band is worried, hurried and harried through the dark forest, they're still crushing beer cans on their foreheads, belly belching like men do and generally causing whatever amounts of mischief and havoc as possible.

Their larger-than-life riffs weave between dead trees, chased through tall grass by a lasso swinging death's headed figure of doom on horseback.  Flirting with doom and coming out laughing like wild men, Brutus ends up looking like a group of deep woods survivors, edgy attitudes and etched faces.  The moods the band displays are all over the map, reflecting the rhythms of life, they have sides to match all scenes one may find oneself in, and provides the perfect soundtrack thereof.  I love the dark, dark overcast skies feel as stormclouds gather over creepy mansions on "Blue Pills" or as larvae-bearing ghost ships sail over dry land dropping their overflowing payload as they go on "Reflections".  But if it's the fun-and-sun filled, cruising with the top down getaway moments you're looking for, there's always "Big Fat Boogie" and "Personal Riot".  Or maybe you've already arrived at your destination, hot dogs on the end of sticks, sun going down or are simply looking for a good back porch stomper, well "Square Headed Dog"s got you covered there as well.  Do you plan on scaling the precarious face of a mountain in the deep forest with an escaped lab experiment gone wrong nipping at your heels?  Well "Mystery Machine" is the perfect tension building soundtrack to that exact scenario too.  Who knows, it might give you that extra boost you need to escape, heels intact.  It might even save your life.

Image courtesy of Dice Magazine.

But maybe not.  Basically, 'Behind the Mountains' is a handy album to bring around to maypole dances by day or ensorcelled orgies round the old hanging tree by night.  It both establishes and matches the mood of each event at different times.

Music was just better in the olden daze and Brutus number among the legions of Scandanavians who say "fuck it" and don't bother to update a sound, they just drive a stake through it and roast it with orange amps. Mmm, tasty!  What can I say to convince you that this band is better than all the other Scandanavian "retro rock" bands out there?  Nothing, nor would I want to.  Each one is different.  Brutus may be the most unique sounding of the bunch.  There's not any one or two specific bands that you could point to from bygone days, who this band uses as a point of reference or sounds like (well ... maybe Sabbath, but yeah, no two bands).  Theirs is an original sound never bordering on infringement.  As a matter of fact, it may be time to trash the well-worn label 'retro' regarding these lads and slap upon their rubber-burning bumper the fresh appellation of 'throwback'.  Yes folks, there is a difference!

Highlights include: "Personal Riot" and "Blue Pills"

Rating: 4.5/5


Tracklist:
1). The Witches Remains (4:58)
2). Personal Riot (3:54)
3). Big Fat Boogie (3:43)
4). Blue Pills (6:11)
5). Square Headed Dog (4:39)
6). Mystery Machine (3:48)
7). Crystal Parrot (4:13)
8). Reflections (6:56)
9). Can't Help Wondering Why (6:41)
Total Run Time: 44:59

From: Paris, France

Genre: 'Throwback' Rock, Doom, Blues

Reminds me of: Kadavar, Witchcraft, Year of the Goat

Release Date: June 14, 2012

Better Reviews:
Sludgelord
The Sleeping Shaman
Ech(((o)))es and Dust

Brutus on facebook

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Magister Templi - Lucifer Leviathan Logos (album review)

I don't remember where or when I heard about these guys but I know I'd had May 10 circled on the calendar for weeks, for that was the day that the Magister Templi took the altar with their full-length debut.  I've said it before and I'll say it some more, I love me some old school style metal.  Where machine gun guitars hack and slash through all bullshit, galloping rhythms stalk listeners on darkened streets, muted cymbals and anthemic singalong choruses finally capture them in their frenzy.  That's what it's all about.  You can almost feel the denim draped over your shoulders, the fingerless gloves raising a fist, head thrown back, mullets flowing in the breeze of sheer amplitude.  And that's just the opening tune, "Master of the Temple."

It's no wonder that 'Lucifer Leviathan Logos' is such an accomplished debut.  They've been around for roughly five years now, having up to this point released a total of six songs spanning a demo and an EP.

"Lucifer" may be Magister Templi's oldest song, as an older version appears on their two-song demo, which is fitting because it treats the listener to some melodic vocals that remind me somewhat of the underground heavy prog/psych bands that were coming out of England in the late sixties, bands like Vandergraaf Generator, East of Eden and Second Hand.  It forms a trio of songs, along with "Leviathan" and "Logos" that not only form the album title but that cut through the album evenly (each of the even numbered songs) forming the overall "master's thesis" of Magister Templi, summarizing everything, all the ideas they are attempting to get across on this album.

"The Innsmouth Look" is, quite obviously, a Lovecraftian Mythos song (side note: it's funny because I only just read Marvel Premiere #s 4, 5 & 6 featuring Dr. Strange, which dealt with this subject exactly.  Side note to the side note: these three issues were written by comics Hall of Famer Gardner F. Fox, one of the very first fiction writers to recognize Lovecraft's genius and pick up on what he was doing, including expanding on his beloved Mythos).  It's one of the most unabashedly and appropriately doom-y song on the album and builds slowly towards the driving metal that defines most of the rest of the album.  The previously mentioned "Leviathan" builds dynamically on the foundation laid by this song as well, slabbing layer upon layer of doom then metal and so on, which makes this such a well-crafted and atmospherically rich album.

Vocalist Abraxas d'Ruckus delivers a full performance, seemingly challenging and pushing himself on every song, either by crafting a memorable melody or shifting into an unnatural falsetto.  Earnestly spoken incantations add the spice of danger and authenticity to the largely occultic lyrical content.  It's this predilection for spoken word passages then pushing the vocal performance just past that of d'Ruckus' natural ability that lends this album a Doors-like finish, it's smooth going in, then foams up while passing through the throat.

Through it all, though it may be a little rough around the edges in places, even someone who has lost their hearing can simply feel the raw power of this album pulsing through their feet and up their spines to infect the brain like the fungi from Yuggoth.

A lot of old school metal type bands go with one sound and one tempo and one goal in mind on every song and that certainly has its place and makes for an enjoyable ride.  Magister Templi however, aren't afraid to experiment with many shades to their palette while still retaining an overall feel to the album all the same.  Look no further than album closer "Vitriol" for evidence of this.  "Master of the Temple" doesn't sound like "Lucifer", which doesn't sound like "The Innsmouth Look" and so on.  While a lesser band might have taken  each of these songs and crafted seven whole albums around them with six to ten songs that all sound roughly the same, Magister Templi has produced a varied listening experience while still signing their work with a signature sound.  It's a rare trait these days and rarer still to be pulled off so successfully.

Highlights include: "Master of the Temple" and "Lucifer"

Rating: 4/5


Tracklist:
1). Master of the Temple (6:01)
2). Lucifer (4:50)
3). The Innsmouth Look (5:56)
4). Leviathan (5:30)
5). Tiphareth (5:46)
6). Logos (4:31)
7). Vitriol (4:25)
Total Run Time: 36:54

Abraxas d'Ruckus: Vocals
Baphomet: Guitar
Patriark: Guitar
Akoman: Bass
Grimmdun: Drums

From: Oslo, Norway

Genre: Doom, Old School Metal

Reminds me of: Arkham Witch, Natur

Release Date: May 10, 2013

Better Reviews:
Angry Metal Guy
Last Rites

This is Not a Scene interview
Nocturnal Cult interview

Magister Templi facebook

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OR HERE (digital)

High Priest of Saturn - ST (album review)

Cover image by Espen Solheim.

This was one of my most highly anticipated and eagerly awaited albums of this year.  "The Protean Towers" has been melting the paranoid speakers for almost a year now as it came, along with "Crawling King Snake" (which isn't a John Lee Hooker cover by the way) from the band's two song '2011 Demo'.  I found it either on youtube or a bandcamp tag search, but either way it was the cover art that drew me to it.  The art combined with the band name, the overall quality of the songs, the beautiful vocals of Merethe Heggset and the length of the compositions (both hang out around the 10 minute mark), created an aura, a mystique about the band that had me drooling for more.  When I found out they were signed to Svart Records and would release their full-length, self-titled debut through that label, I knew they would deliver.

First thing's first, some stats for you.  The album contains but four tracks of nearly equal length around the 10,9,9 and 12 minute marks.  Only two of these tracks are 'new', i.e. not found on the demo, they are "Kraken Mare" and "On Mayda Insula" and make up the lion's share of the record.  The two cuts we heard on the demo?  They have been re-recorded for this release, of course.  So let us begin.

"The Protean Towers" is now fully fleshed out and realized due to a superior recording that brings the depth and fullness of the band's sound to the fore.  The song is predicated by a classic tritone doom riff, the kind that never gets old no matter how many repetitions the band moves through.  That's the way in which we get to such long compositions on this album, slow tempos and fearless repetition, as opposed to lengthening tracks via flights of progressive fancy.  Another huge hallmark of the demo version of the song was the organ, which was the real hook of the song.  The organ lends this thing a late sixties vibe which creates a Manson family kind of atmosphere.  Something in the swirling tones of the organ makes me think of penetrating stares from some wild eyed woman.  Merethe sings in an understated baritone, which only serves to reinforce this image in my mind.  The organ isn't as crisp or out-front in the mix on this newly recorded version as it was on the demo and for that reason it's darker in tone, not only the organ but the song altogether.  Even after all this time, it's still a great song.

"Kraken Mare" is next and it's our first taste of something truly new from this band since their demo nearly two years ago.  Occult feelings once again resound with the slow revving riffs, organ and tom tom explorations and haunting vocals.  Again they are a major focal point, Merethe's emotionally distant delivery ingraining itself on a deep seated area of the brain.  Though we're only half way through the album, let me just tell you that the entire four song, 41 minute album is a pressure cooker of slow riffs, with performances that are as detached as ghosts are from corpses, relentlessly churning riffs which are forced to relive tragedies in a seemingly endless cycle.  Of course, there can be a kind of awe in tragedy and thankfully, the High Priest blesses their audience with such a hook.

We've heard "Crawling King Snake" before too, but again, the sound here is all together thicker, fuller, deeper with more prominent organ.  There was a subtlety to the original version, but what's lost in that regard is made up for in the altogether superior recording which emphasizes the dynamics and interplay of the instruments.  The organ retains the flavor of subtlety too with its slow build up to a killer swell of dissonance during the refrain.  No matter what way you slice it, it's a superior version of an already five star song.

So, just in case you haven't got it til now, this band has carved out an identity for itself (see above).  They're not about to rock the boat on their big finale by changing tempos or tones.  If anything, this (second of two) newly unveiled track only turns everything the band has been doing up to this point up to 11.  The riffs are slower, the organ ever more subtle, the quality of warmth in the vocals shrinking and disappearing in a vanishing point of pitilessness.

High Priest of Saturn can walk you to the funeral home and dirge you into the ground all day long.  The only question is, is this what you want?  Because if you're looking for anything other than slow to midtempo occult doom rock you won't find it on this album.  This album is strictly for the people who use skulls for candle holders and skeletons for coat racks.  That doesn't mean however, that High Priest of Saturn can't do their part to win a few new converts to the genre, I reckon the video below will rope a few in all by itself.

Highlights include: "The Protean Towers" and "Kraken Mare"

Rating: 4/5



Tracklist:
1). The Protean Tower (10:32)
2). Kraken Mare (9:08)
3). Crawling King Snake (9:03)
4). On Mayda Insula (12:49)
Total Run Time: 41:31

Merethe Heggset: Bass Guitar / Vocals
Martin Sivertsen: Guitar
Andreas Hagen: Guitar and Drums

Keyboards played by Ole Kristian Majmedal

From: Trondheim, Norway

Genre: Doom, Psychedelic

Reminds me of: Albino Python, Witchsorrow

Release Date: March 22, 2013

Suggested listening activity for fellow non-stoners: Spend a candle lit night with Baph-Omet, you know just a nice quiet night, nesting ...

Better Review:
Temple of Perdition
Wicked Channel
Sputnik Music

High Priest of Saturn facebook

GET IT HERE / or LP

OR HERE (digital)

Spectral Haze - ST demo (album review)

Spectral Void are a Heavy Psych band from Oslo, Norway that play "Psyched Out Doom Rock Rituals", according to their own Facebook page.  One might call the style they play "Mood Music for Sorcerers."

"Forging an Astral Void" kicks off with a riff drenched in reverb that recalls "Ego the Living Planet" by Monster Magnet.  Wild calls and howls rain from the smoky astral void as the band moves through a series of improvised sections.

Second number "Kali Magick" is a tremolo heavy slow mover that builds a house of doom from an early electric Muddy Waters / John Lee Hooker delta blues foundation.  The rhythm shambles and thumps through the foetid depths of cyclopean gambrels layered with gibbous effect-laden guitar.  While many bands pay lyrical homage to H.P. Lovecraft, few actually capture the eldritch mood of his stories.

The opening of the next track "Kashf (Gaining Familiarity with Things Unseen Behind the Veils)" takes the mood of "Kali Magic" and does away with the effects, becoming more of a straight ahead slow jam until about five and a half minutes in when the band decides to hook the listener after gaining his trust by turning the eldritch meter up to 11, taking the listener on a journey through unknown Kadath.

"Tribe of the Cosmic Crow Giant" is a blow your hair back cruise through the endless reaches of space in the best Hawkwindian tradition.  It's the most structured song on the 4 track demo for sure, and the go to number for those looking to rock out.

All in all, the demo is successful in capturing a specific mood or theme in sound, that which can be described as 'cosmic sorcery'.  And like fellow Scandinavian psychedelic magicians Saturnalia Temple, they do it earnestly and they do it well.

Highlights include: "Forging an Astral Void" and "Tribe of the Cosmic Crow Giant"

Rating: 4.5/5

Total Run Time: 33:38

From: Oslo, Norway

Genre: Psychedelic, Doom, Sludge, Space Rock, Stoner

Reminds me of: Dr. Strange comics, Hawkwind, Monster Magnet, Saturnalia Temple

Release Date: September 21, 2012

Suggested listening activity for fellow non-stoners: The new (un)official soundtrack for cosmic battles with Baron Mordo, Shuma Gorath or the dread Dormammu!