Italian trio Bottomless make their self-titled debut July 16 through Spikerot Records. Oh, it’s doomy. Classic doom. Doom schooled in the ways of doom. Comprised in the CD version of 10 tracks running a total of 46 minutes, the collection does not dissemble and gets right to business with the post-Saint Vitus rollout of opener “Monastery,” guitarist/vocalist Giorgio Trombino going all-in on the Reagers-style vocals. Cuts like the subsequent “Centuries Asleep” have a bit more boogie and the title-track or the later “Loveless Reign” nod toward The Obsessed while the shove of “Losing Shape” vibes deep in Pentagram, but one way or another, it all comes back to pure doom, with Trombino, bassist Sara Bianchin and drummer David Lucido offering more than referential reverence in their progressions, but still speaking most to an audience of the genre-converted. In another time, another place, it’s easy to imagine their logo on any number of Doom Over…-style festival posters. They may yet get there.

Trombino and Lucido have played together in a number of outfits as you can read below, and Bianchin is perhaps best known for her work in Messa, so maybe their cohesion around the central idea of Bottomless — that is, dooom, with three ‘o’s and all — shouldn’t be a surprise, but it is righteous. Listening to LP-centerpiece “Ash” lumber across its first half before an “alright!” from Trombino signals the tempo shift in its second is to hear worship expressed as persona. Like their cover art works off of Henri-Joseph Harpignies’ painting Lever de Lune sur un Étang — yes, I was given that info; that’s not a pick I made off the top of my head and I won’t pretend otherwise — so too is their aesthetic born of established methods but presented in sincere, back-to-the-roots fashion, and what once made Reverend Bizarre‘s work so purposeful resonates too in “Vestige” here in a sense that richness of sound means more than just subsuming oneself in microgenre for its own sake. They knock on your door. You answer. They hold up the pamphlet comprised entirely of killer riffs and nodding grooves. On the front, you read the words, “Is there room for doom in your heart?”

Almost certainly there is.

And just as the resounding push in “Cradling Obsession” is sure to enact a satisfied metal-frown even unto its fading solo and the arrival of the bonus track “Hell Vacation,” so too does the earlier “Centuries Asleep” speak to the core of what makes doom doomed. The band cites a ’70s influence, calling out the Tony Iommi-produced Necromandus as well as underrated Scots Iron Claw, and fair enough, but if you’re wondering what makes it lead-single-ready, it’s the hook and the fullness of its sound that’s doing the heavy lifting here, as well as the bleeding-black sneering vocal from Trombino. Fucking a.

Ahead of the album’s release this summer, still about two months off, you can stream a lyric video for “Centuries Asleep” premiering below, followed by a few words from the band about it, preorder link, album info, etc.

Doom on:

Bottomless, “Centuries Asleep” lyric video premiere

Bottomless on “Centuries Asleep”:

This particular song strikes closest to our vision of 70s dark and doomed rock. Iron Claw, Necromandus: you name ’em. We try to write rock songs, first and foremost, and they gotta have that structure and feel otherwise it’s plain musical failure. It’s about a vision of an ever still and dangerous world.

Bottomless is our vehicle to express a love that never dies, i.e. that for the most threatening, Sabbathic form of slow heavy metal we could ever come up with. There’s no room for anything but our influences inside this project. That being said, our first album is the materialization of our vision.

Preorder: https://smarturl.it/bottomless
Set for release on July 16th 2021 and featuring members of well known acts like Messa, Assumption and more, BOTTOMLESS will stir up the scene with their upcoming debut album, to be released this summer via Spikerot Records! Consisting of guitarist/singer Giorgio Trombino and drummer David Lucido (together in Assumption, Undead Creep, Haemophagus, Morbo and more) and joined by Sara Bianchin (Messa, Restos Humanos) in 2018 on bass, a constantly demanding musical schedule has forced the trio to keep postponing the recording and release of their first-full length album for years, yet, in 2021, it is finally about to come to life. BOTTOMLESS’ first self-titled record will be coming out on CD, LP and digital and features nothing but unadulterated Doom Metal in the vein of the ancient masters Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, Pentagram, Trouble and The Obsessed!

BOTTOMLESS’ s/t debut will be coming out July 16th on Spikerot Records and is now available for pre-order here: http://smarturl.it/bottomless

Tracklist:
01. Monastery
02. Centuries Asleep
03. Bottomless
04. The Talking Mask
05. Ash
06. Losing Shape
07. Loveless Reign
08. Vestige
09. Cradling Obsession
10. Hell Vacation (CD BONUS TRACK)

BOTTOMLESS are:
Giorgio Trombino – Guitars / Vocals
Sara Bianchin – Bass
David Lucido – Drums

Bottomless on Facebook

Bottomless on Instagram

Spikerot Records on Facebook

Spikerot Records on Instagram

Spikerot Records website

Not much to tell at this point about Bottomless. If it helps, one suspects their moniker derives from some endless doomly abyss — be it actual, metaphorical or emotional — rather than simply having no pants on, though in the age of waist-up videoconferencing, perhaps it’s best not to take anything for granted.

A social media presence for the Italian trio would seem to have emerged just before the announcement that they’ve signed to Spikerot Records went out, though they’ve most likely been working on the QT for longer, since they’ll issue a full-length already later this year. I don’t know the status of any recording or progress, and there isn’t even a demo posted that I could find — which should only tell you that, yes, there probably is, and most likely it’s ridiculously easy to find — but it’ll be along when it comes along. The personnel here caught my eye, and of course Spikerot has shown they know what they’re doing on multiple occasions at this point. One can hardly argue with the mission as it’s presented here. For the rest, we’ll see I guess.

To the PR wire:

BOTTOMLESS (feat. members of Assumption, Messa, Haemophagus) signs to Spikerot Records!

Spikerot Records is extremely stoked to announce the signing of BOTTOMLESS, the brand new project formed by Giorgio Trombino and David Lucido, respectively guitar/vocals and drums (together in Assumption, Undead Creep, Haemophagus, Morbo and others) and by Sara Bianchin (Messa, Restos Humanos) on bass.

BOTTOMLESS play nothing but unadulterated Doom Metal in the vein of the ancient masters Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, Pentagram, Trouble, The Obsessed.

“Bottomless is our vehicle to express a love that never dies, i.e. that for the most threatening, Sabbathic form of slow heavy metal we could ever come up with” says Trombino. “There’s no room for anything but our influences inside this project. That being said, our first album is the materialization of our vision. We thank Spikerot for believing in Bottomless since the very start. There is no end…”.

The trio’s first self-titled record is expected to be released in late 2021 via Spikerot Records on CD, LP and Digital.

BOTTOMLESS are:
Giorgio Trombino – Guitar / Vocals
Sara Bianchin – Bass
David Lucido – Drums

https://www.facebook.com/Bottomless-100978085366847
https://www.instagram.com/bottomlessdoom/
www.facebook.com/spikerotrecords
https://www.instagram.com/spikerotrecords/
www.spikerot.com

Undead Creep, Enchantments From the Haunted Hills (2012)