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Domovoyd Stream “Mystagogue” from Self-Titled LP out May 8

domovoyd (Photo by Rainer Paananen)

Is there such a thing as psychedelic extremity? Finnish four-piece Domovoyd aren’t through the opener of their self-titled sophomore LP before they make a case for it. Granted, “Domovoyage” is 17 minutes long in leading off Domovoyd‘s Domovoyd, which is out May 8 on respected purveyor Svart Records, but I think the point holds despite the substantial runtime. And “Domovoyage” is hardly a completely summary of what the double-vinyl has to offer, the subsequent “Ambrosian Perfume” reinventing pre-New Wave proclamations atop repetitive wah and far-back strumming before shifting into grunge riffing and echoing shouts, a solo taking hold at 6:15 that carries through the remainder of the track’s 9:41. The rules of songwriting are flung open across Domovoyd‘s freaked-out 59-minute span, and whether it’s a perversely weird turn, as in “Ambrosian Perfume,” or a sprawling exploration like the bookending 17-minute closer “Vivid Insanity” — otherwise known as “side D” — the returning lineup of guitarist/vocalist Oskar Tunderberg, guitarist Niko Lehdontie, bassist Dmitry Melet and Axel Solimeis offer a resonant progression from the debut, their penchant for weirdness matched by their command of sound.

“Caustic Afterglow” mounts tense spoken word drama over pervasive, swirling drone, but at four minutes long and providing a severe end to side B, it’s more than an interlude. On the CD and digital versions of the album, “Caustic Afterglow” leads into “Mystagogue,” a buzzing and exploding jam that, like that riff that took over “Ambrosian Perfume,” has some basis in grunge to go with its weighted tonality. More than the earlier cut, however, “Mystagogue” builds to and hits an apex within its 4:38 pays off the prior trades between restraint and release, Tunderberg‘s vocals shifting between semi-spoken parts and rougher shouting, Domovoyd never quite allowing themselves to give completely over to space domovoyd-domovoydrock impulses, but always seeming to be way up in the atmosphere anyhow. “Mystagogue” makes a fitting summary of some of the noisy psych the opener also has on offer, but there isn’t really one single track that encapsulates the scope of the record, as “Amor Fati” proves almost immediately with a darker, thicker roll, choice snare work from Solimeis and a break into off-kilter strumming from Ledontie and Tunderberg, who’s backed in the verse by a high falsetto so deep in the mix as to make you wonder if it’s really there. I’d give you a definitive answer on that if I had one.

Sub-screaming and noise wash caps “Amor Fati,” but there’s a final spoken line from Tunderberg as well that I won’t spoil here, and “Vivid Insanity” takes hold following a few seconds’ silence with a quiet guitar figure that develops peacefully over the first seven minutes, drums coming in, effects lightly swirling around, but a stop at 8:40 brings the full-toned chaos of a verse, and the heft and madness continues to churn its way forward in leads and shouts and rumble and thud as Domovoyd push toward the 14th minute and a gradual comedown in intensity, finally ending with a stretch of brighter droning and other noise, not abrasive, but humming out a waveform on a long fade to close out. The title of the closer is perhaps a fitting descriptor for Domovoyd‘s overarching perspective throughout the album, but both words in it are worth emphasizing, and by that I mean that the foursome not only craft this strange, varied, at-times-bludgeoning, at-times-intricate brew, but do so with an underlying sense of purpose to their work and consciousness unrelenting, making the album both a fascinating listen and at times utterly terrifying. For what it’s worth, Domovoyd seem to be perfectly comfortable in that alternate-dimension morass, and the more one hears the record, the more it makes sense they’d put it out as a self-titled. Speaking sonically, that psychedelic extremity is their home.

Today I have the pleasure of hosting the premiere “Mystagogue” from Domovoyd‘s Domovoyd for streaming. Please find it below, followed by more info on the album, and enjoy:

The young psychonauts of Domovoyd are onto their sixth year of existence in this dimension, and, having taken many acid heads by surprise with their debut album Oh Sensibility (2013), are ready to deliver a second transmission from worlds beyond and within. Scheduled to appear on the planet on May 8th, the album is self titled and it will be available on CD, double vinyl and digital.

Domovoyd’s eponymous 60-minute behemoth pays tribute to progressive rock masterpieces of yesteryear in the sense that it is, for lack of a better word, a concept album. Storytelling and mythmaking in the works, if you will, but distilled through an overdriven stack of amplifiers.

The album’s six tracks deal with inner discovery of the psychedelic kind and ultimately with the loss and destruction of all conceptions of self and the world. Old ego is a too much thing, as Charlie Manson once said.

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Domovoyd on Bandcamp

Domovoyd’s website

Domovoyd at Svart Records

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