Stomping, plodding doom, caked equal shares in feedback and loathing, pervades the debut EP from Seattle-based Phemüt. Titled The Memory of Spring, the four-song collection takes its cues from tonal massiveness brought to bear by the familiar presence of Aaron D.C. Edge, who the last time we heard from him had fractured a vertebra in his back mountain biking and was attempting to cover even more medical expenses incurred beyond those resulting from his ongoing treatment for M.S. — not a minor financial commitment.

He’s joined in the new project — I believe that’s a milestone band #87 for Edge — by vocalist Cole Benoit of Dead Again and percussionist Penny Keats (Keeper), and much growing, deathsludge ensues, but it would be hard for a 16-minute cut like “Of Bones and Ash,” which hits second after opener “The Symbology of Ruin,” to sustain itself without a corresponding sense of atmosphere, and the EP as a whole winds up with plenty of that to go with its encompassing morass, in that song as well as “Beneath the Embers,” which follows, loud/quiet tradeoffs set the tone. Admittedly, loud wins, but that’s about right for what Phemüt are aiming at, which is destruction. “Only Death is Forever” rounds out on a suitably downtrodden note, and as it straddles the line between EP and LP, The Memory of Spring offers little by way of hope for warmth in its crushing roll.

Info and audio follow:

Phemüt: with members of Lumbar, Keeper and Dead Again…

a studio project featuring: cole benoit (dead again), penny keats (keeper), and aaron edge (lumbar and iamthethorn)
credits
released 20 August 2015

phemüt performs “the memory of spring”

cole benoit: vocals
aaron d.c. edge: strings
penny keats: percussion

electronic kit recorded by jacob lee at the doom cupboard
guitars and bass recorded by aaron edge at myelin studio
vocals recorded by russell white at the secret location
mixed by aaron edge and cole benoit
mastered by cole benoit
design by cole benoit
“hooded figures” illustration (1970) by nicholas monro

http://phemut.bandcamp.com/releases

Phemüt, The Memory of Spring (2015)