[Click play above to stream the premiere of Deathwhite’s ‘No Thought or Memory.’ Album preorders are available here. The band says, “‘No Thought or Memory’ details the opioid epidemic ravaging the United States and the perils of addiction. It is well documented how pharmaceutical companies have made billions by getting people hooked on their substances. The fact that they have gotten away with it for so long is reprehensible, but how quickly prescription drug abuse can destroy lives and families is even worse. The amount of lives affected is untold and there is no end in sight.”]
Anonymous Pittsburgh melodic death-doom hood-bearers Deathwhite release their third full-length, Grey Everlasting, June 10 through Season of Mist. In some ways, it is business as usual for the unknown parties involved in the band. The core of their sound remains intact in honing a style that is richly and morosely melodic, recalling the depressive craft of mid-period Katatonia especially but having increasingly made it their own over the last decade; their first full-length, 2017’s For a Black Tomorrow (review here), serving as the impetus for the Season of Mist pickup and re-release early the next year, while early-2020’s Grave Image (review here) fostered vibes that were only well at home in the darkest of winter and the resoundingly bleak Spring that followed. Grey Everlasting, with production once again from Shane Meyer and Art Paiz — instruments at Cerebral Audio and vocals at Erik Rutan‘s Mana Recording, respectively — invariably carries much of their sound forward into its new collection of 11 songs. Even the cover art by Jérôme Comentale is a consistent presence from both albums prior and then some. For those who’ve followed Deathwhite over their now 10-year arc, they reaffirm the depressive melodic doom metal that’s expected of them.
They also expand on it. The intro “Nihil,” in just 97 seconds, signals a shift in focus toward keyboard orchestrations, setting an expanded foundation for the tracks that lead-single “Earthtomb” soon answers in an initial blastbeaten burst and one of Grey Everlasting‘s most memorable hooks. This uptick in keys continues throughout and strengthens songs like “No Thought or Memory” (premiering below), the last piece of the opening salvo “Quietly, Suddenly,” or the later “Formless,” bolstering the impact of the guitar, bass and drums while enhancing the often-harmonized vocals that are by now a signature aspect of Deathwhite‘s approach. Correspondingly, Grey Everlasting is the most extreme album the band have done to-date, as the double-kick drumming in “Earthtomb” and “No Thought or Memory” is a foreshadow of “White Sleep” and “Immemorial” at the center of the tracklist. The former follows the title-cut and is an immediately meaner shove, pulling back from its ferocity for the verse but seeming extra tense in the crashes there, as though sending a subliminal signal of where it’s ultimately headed.
It’s as though, having been saddled with a perceived death metal influence to some degree or other over their prior releases, Deathwhite decided to really dive into it in more than just those first measures of “Earthtomb.” The vocals in the second half of “White Sleep” become more guttural. They’re still clean on the whole — it’s not an all-out growl — but the change is remarkable and resonates with the more intense instrumental turn surrounding. “White Sleep” settles down in its final movement, bringing the residual pummel in the drums together with the keyboard, and “Immemorial” doesn’t give away the plot right away, but at 2:36 into its total 4:06, the drums signal a change and growing whispers far back in the mix more fully depart from the ultra-clean delivery, soon joined by layers of growling and screaming both.
In the context of the song itself and the 47 minutes of Grey Everlasting as a whole, it’s a relatively minor stretch of time — doesn’t even last until the finish of the song — but just by being there, it expands the reach of record and band alike, and it means that the aggressive threat that’s seemed to underlie Deathwhite‘s material all along has been real. The effect is such that when the double-kick starts in “So We Forget” after “Formless,” it’s that much harder to know what kind of shift is coming. It makes Deathwhite a more versatile band.
In that regard, one can also point to the use of space throughout Grey Everlasting. Similar to how they’ve always incorporated ideas from death metal, Deathwhite have always been atmospheric — at very least you would say their songwriting does not want for mood — but the standalone drums in the first half of the penultimate “Blood and Ruin,” or the open-sounding patient manner in which the title-track unfolds, the echo there on guitar, snare and vocals alike. Even “Nihil” and “Earthtomb” demonstrate the greater breadth that Grey Everlasting seems to evoke in its sound, the latter layering a solo over its central rhythm not by forcing it to squeeze in ahead of the vocals, but by using the room that was there already — same thing goes for the keys coming forward between vocal lines. And before it arrives in the final chug that caps the record, six-minute closer and longest track “Asunder” does not neglect this element either, as its steady progression of verse and chorus give over to a stretch of acoustic guitar before the vocals and guitar return and herald the aforementioned payoff, allowing for one last moment of quiet and thereby furthering its own summary of who Deathwhite are at this pivotal stage in their development.
Let’s be honest. To a certain degree, those who’ve heard either of the Deathwhite full-lengths before Grey Everlasting should have some idea of what’s coming in these songs, and their consistency is an asset in acting as the ground upon which they build. And part of that is the emotionality of the songs. That is not lessened for the more extreme parts nor overblown by an increase in the lushness of the instrumental melodies. Whether it’s the sharper lead guitar line in “No Thought or Memory” or the cavernous scope in the beginnings of “Blood and Ruin,” Deathwhite not only sound more sure of that ground, but confident in the new ideas being presented. That combination makes Grey Everlasting the broadest Deathwhite release yet, and speaks of new life even when so much feels dystopian and disconnected outside the music. I won’t call a record titled Grey Everlasting hopeful, but the songs are a comfort and a catharsis in kind. Even as they seem so steady in their miseries, there’s room for beauty and brutality alike.
About five minutes after I sent in this playlist, a mass email went out from Gimme Metal to reinforce the guidelines for how to make shows in terms of length and allowing room for promos, voice tracks, and so on. If in fact that’s more than coincidence, I won’t say I didn’t earn it, considering. Some of this stuff I’ve played before — Apostle of Solitude, Uncle Woe, Scott Kelly probably — but a lot of it is new too. If you’ve been on the site at all this week, you’ve probably already seen premieres for Soldat Hans, Uncle Woe and Ealdor Bealu (the latter today), and Moura and that new Geezer were recently featured here as well. You see? It’s all about cross-promotional synergy between varying sides of the massive corporate machine that is The Obelisk. We own Coca-Cola now, if you didn’t know. A recent pickup.
Keep an ear out for the shift from MWWB to Tau and the Drones of Praise. There’s some weirdo back and forth in the playlist here that I love, especially in that middle block of music. I tried to talk less and cram in as much music as I could. You know how it is. Next time, I’ll try to keep it to the established timeframe. I try to be good. And no, The Obelisk didn’t really buy Coca-Cola. Not that I would if I could, but I can’t even afford a can thereof, let alone the company itself.
Thanks if you listen, thanks if you’re reading. Thanks in general.
The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at: http://gimmemetal.com.
Full playlist:
The Obelisk Show – 03.18.22
Apostle of Solitude
Apathy in Isolation
Until the Darkness Goes
Crowbar
Zero and Below
Zero and Below
Geezer
Broken Glass
Stoned Blues Machine
VT1
Deathwhite
Earthtomb
Grey Everlasting
Daisychain
How Can I Love You
Different Shades
Moura
Baile do dentón
Axexan, Espreitan
Ealdor Bealu
Mirror Reflecting Mirror
Psychic Forms
MWWB
The Harvest
The Harvest
Tau and the Drones of Praise
Already Written
Dream Awake: Live at Roadburn Redux
Atlas789
El Despertar – Luz Y Sombra
El Despertar – Luz Y Sombra
Dark Worship
Culling Song
Death of a Saint
Scott Kelly & the Road Home
The Field That Surrounds Me
The Forgiven Ghost in Me
Famyne
Once More
II
Kaleidobolt
I Should Be Running
This One Simple Trick
VT2
Uncle Woe
We Plant the Seeds for Things We Know Will Never Grow
Pennyfold Haberdashery & Abbatoir Deluxe
Soldat Hans
Anthaupt
Anthaupt
E-L-R
Opiate the Sun
Vexier
The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is April 1 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 9th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
I’m not saying I made this happen or anything, but I did email Season of Mist yesterday and ask what was going on with this record, because frankly, I just couldn’t take not knowing anymore. One way or the other, the press release below is my answer about anonymous Pittsburgh melodic death-doomers Deathwhite‘s impending third album, Grey Everlasting, which follows 2020’s Grave Image (review here) and 2018’s For a Black Tomorrow (review here) and is set to issue on June 10. Preorders, the cover art, track info and a video for post-intro lead cut “Earthtomb” are available below, and no, I haven’t sent another email to the label yet harassingly asking to premiere a song with a review, but I kind of feel like that’s only because I’m too busy typing this out first.
This is a band I really dig, and I’ve been looking forward to this album since they announced last June that they were working on it, let alone when they finished in October. Have to wonder if the June release date is just for pressing concerns or if it might coincide with some manner of touring domestically or abroad, but whatever. The title-track sounds like what I’ve been wishing Katatonia would put out forever, and for today I’m gonna just dig in here and enjoy it. You can do likewise with the new video.
Still have no idea who they are, by the way. That’s some impressively-maintained anonymity.
From the PR wire:
DEATHWHITE Reveals New Album Details, Shares Official Music Video for New Song
Enigmatic dark metal outfit DEATHWHITE will be releasing their third full-length, ‘Grey Everlasting,’ on June 10 via Season of Mist! The band is now sharing the devastating first single, “Earthtomb,” along with a music video! The heart-wrenching video, which was created by Guilherme Henriques, can be found at THIS LOCATION.
DEATHWHITE comments: “It is our abundant pleasure to share the video for ‘Earthtomb,’ the first single from ‘Grey Everlasting.’ The immaculate Guilherme Henriques shot the clip in Aceredo, Spain and Porto, Portugal. Unfortunately, the song and video are a rather timely and direct reflection of the times we live when unchecked power, deception, gas-lighting and flat-out lies are used as tools to wreak havoc upon humanity and sow discord.
“‘Earthtomb’ was written as our observation — and inherent wish — that these individuals succumb to their misdeeds. What is happening in Ukraine at the moment has, for the members of Deathwhite, made this song more prescient than ever. Our hearts go out to those impacted by this utter tragedy.”
‘Grey Everlasting’ will follow up 2020’s critically-acclaimed ‘Grave Image.’
‘Grey Everlasting’ is available to pre-order HERE: https://shop.season-of-mist.com/list/deathwhite-grey-everlasting and can be pre-saved to your streaming library HERE: https://orcd.co/greyeverlasting
The cover was created by Jérôme Comentale.
Tracklist: 1. Nihil (01:37) 2. Earthtomb (05:06) 3. No Thought or Memory (04:08) 4. Quietly, Suddenly (04:38) 5. Grey Everlasting (03:51) 6. White Sleep (04:22) 7. Immemorial (04:05) 8. Formless (03:35) 9. So We Forget (05:15) 10. Blood and Ruin (04:58) 11. Asunder (06:21) Total run-time: 48:03
Posted in Radio on November 12th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
I’ve been trying to do a best-of-2020-a-year-later episode since like June, but maybe it’s all the more appropriate since we’re coming up on that most wretched of years is actually nearly a full year buried. As much as it’s buried at all — don’t you kind of feel like 2020 lives on in our hearts, minds and residual traumas? I kind of do.
As I say in the voice breaks for this episode, I have very little conception of when 2020 ended and 2021 began as regards albums. I would’ve told you that the Grayceon record, the Enslaved record and Slift were 2021 releases. Yeah, I know Lowrider and Elephant Tree were last year, and Colour Haze and All Them Witches, but Polymoon? That could’ve been 2019.
So in addition to being a collection of what I think are killer tunes — always the goal, right? — this playlist is also a way for me to recall when things were ahead of digging into the best of 2021 over the course of the next month-plus. I’ve got a Black Friday episode, then two December episodes left this year. The December ones will both be best-of-the-year stuff. Let this be my precursor to that.
Thanks for listening if you do and/or reading. I hope you enjoy.
The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at: http://gimmemetal.com.
Full playlist:
The Obelisk Show – 11.12.21
Grayceon
Diablo Wind
MOTHERS WEAVERS VULTURES
Deathwhite
A Servant
Grave Image
My Dying Bride
To Outlive the Gods
The Ghost of Orion
VT
Lowrider
Red River
Refractions
Elephant Tree
Exit the Soul
Habits
Forming the Void
Ancient Satellite
Reverie
Colour Haze
Material Drive
We Are
Enslaved
Flight of Thought and Memory
Utgard
VT
Kind
Helms
Mental Nudge
All Them Witches
41
Nothing as the Ideal
Sons of Otis
Hopeless
Isolation
Cinder Well
No Summer
No Summer
Slift
Thousand Helmets of Gold
Ummon
Polymoon
Lazaward
Caterpillars of Creation
VT
Elder
Halcyon
Omens
King Buffalo
Dead Star Pt. 1 & 2
Dead Star
The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is Nov. 26 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 20th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Whatever else Deathwhite‘s Grey Everlasting might be when it finally surfaces through Season of Mist sometime hopefully circa June 2022, I have little doubt it will be one of the most accurately descriptive titles to see release next year. If you heard 2020’s pre-pandemic opus, Grave Image (review here), you know what I’m talking about. The anonymous, Pittsburgh-based four-piece recorded instrumental tracks with Shane Mayer at Cerebral Audio Productions — who also helmed Grave Image and the band’s 2018 debut, For a Black Tomorrow (review here) — and shifted locales to Mana Recording in Florida to do vocals and mixing with Art Paiz. Some dude named Dan Swanö — no big deal or anything but yes most definitely a big deal — did the master.
No, I haven’t heard it yet, apart from the little mixing snippet posted down under their update below. You think it would be tacky for me to hit up the label this early? Probably. On the other hand, I’ve never really been much for class, and with winter looming, it sure does seem like the kind of thing to keep cold with. Alas, maybe I’ll get there or maybe I’ll chicken out and listen to the last record again instead. Should be interesting to have Grey Everlasting show up in Springtime though, if that’s indeed how it works out.
The band was relatively succinct in confirming completion:
DEATHWHITE – ‘Grey Everlasting’ Album Update
It is with distinct pleasure to share that Grey Everlasting has been handed over to the esteemed Season of Mist for a late spring/early summer 2022 release. While we are sworn to secrecy on the album’s particulars, we can share that it features 11 songs, including an instrumental.
Grey Everlasting is our longest album to date but also includes some of our shortest songs. To coin a term from our U.K. friends, we are properly “chuffed” with the album, but, of course, you, the fair, trusted listening audience, will make your determination in due time. – DW
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 11th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Pittsburgh melancholic doomers Deathwhite are currently recording their new album, Grey Everlasting, for release not nearly soon enough through Season of Mist. Early last year, the mystery-lineup outfit issued Grave Image (review here) as their second long-player. It was some eight months between the announcement of those recordings and the record’s Jan. 31, 2020, release, so if they keep the same timeline, maybe Feb. 2022, sooner if we’re lucky?
I’ll take it whenever it comes, don’t get me wrong, but the sooner the better. The wildly undervalued outfit only solidified their songwriting even as compared to their 2018 debut, For a Black Tomorrow (review here), which if you click that link and even skim the review, you’ll see I was a total dork for. I expect much the same will be the case when Grey Everlasting — not to be confused with Evergrey; whatever happened to Evergrey?; still kicking, apparently — turns up. Here’s looking forward.
And kudos to them not fixing what wasn’t broken in terms of the production team. I was really hoping they’d be on Maryland Doom Fest one of these years, but so far no dice.
From the PR wire:
DEATHWHITE Enters Studio to Record Third Full-Length, ‘Grey Everlasting’
Enigmatic dark metal outfit DEATHWHITE have entered Cerebral Audio Productions with producer/engineer Shane Mayer to track their third full-length album, ‘Grey Everlasting!’
Comments the band: “It is our pleasure to share we are in the throes of recording our third album, ‘Grey Everlasting.’ We have opted for continuity between studio albums: The same people responsible for bringing ‘Grave Image’ to life will do the same for ‘Grey Everlasting.’ This includes the esteemed Mr. Mayer, who, in his third studio go-round with us, is more invaluable than ever. We will be tracking vocals in July at Mana Recording in Saint Petersburg, Florida, under the supervision of Art Paiz. Mastering duties will fall onto the legendary Dan Swanö (BLOODBATH, EDGE OF SANITY). And, lastly, the artwork will be handled by Jérôme Comentale, who has created our prior three albums covers.
“While we have assembled a familiar cast of characters, ‘Grey Everlasting,’ to our ears, is by no means a rehash of ‘Grave Image.’ We have introduced some new elements, some of which can be described as ‘extreme.’ The songs are also doomier and more atmospheric in their approach while retaining our core stylistic traits. We did the bulk of the songwriting during the pandemic’s darkest and most isolating moments. It is our belief such feelings resonate throughout the album’s 11 songs. In the meantime, we greatly look forward to sharing them with you and wish everyone continued safety.”
Posted in Features on December 31st, 2020 by JJ Koczan
[PLEASE NOTE: These are not the results of the year-end poll, which is ongoing. If you haven’t contributed your list to the cause yet, please do so here.]
—
Invariably, the ultimate measure of 2020 will be in lives and livelihoods lost around the world. I have nothing to add to the discourse of the COVID-19 pandemic that others haven’t said in more articulate and precise language. Suffice it to note that 2020 was the year that the very concept of “unprecedented” itself became trite.
One does not have to look far to find positives amid the devastation. Creativity continues to flourish. Art cannot be killed. Even locked away from each other in quarantine, artists will continue to reach out, to collaborate, to fulfill the human need for expression that has driven the species since cave drawings and will no doubt be the ruins we leave behind us when we’re gone.
In underground music, it was simply overwhelming. And though I’ll admit it was hard at times to listen to music and divorce it from the larger context of what was happening in the world — it was there like a background buzz — this year reinforced how necessary music is, not only as an escape or a source of income for those who make/promote it, but as an integral component of life and community. Absences have been keenly felt.
I won’t try to sate you with platitudes, to say “things will get better.” Maybe they will, maybe they won’t. One year turning to the next does not fix broken systems and it does not cure raging plagues. It’s just a number. Arbitrary except as a convenient marker for things like this, births, deaths, and so on. Bookkeeping.
Before I turn you over to the lists: Please be kind in the comments if you choose to leave one. To me. To other people. To yourself. These lists are culled from my listening preference and what I consider of critical importance. But I’m one person. If there’s something you feel has been left out, say so. I ask you only to do so in a spirit of friendship rather than argument. Thank you in advance.
50. Sun Crow, Quest for Oblivion
49. Atramentus, Stygian
48. Arcadian Child, Protopsycho
47. Fuzz, III
46. Jointhugger, I Am No One
45. Dirt Woman, The Glass Cliff
44. Switchblade Jesus, Death Hymns
43. Foot, The Balance of Nature Shifted
42. Hymn, Breach Us
41. IAH, III
40. Lord Fowl, Glorious Babylon
39. Acid Mess, Sangre de Otros Mundos
38. 1000mods, Youth of Dissent
37. Deathwhite, Grave Image
36. Soldati, Doom Nacional
35. Cortez, Sell the Future
34. Kadavar, The Isolation Tapes
33. Black Rainbows, Cosmic Ritual Supertrip
32. Shadow Witch, Under the Shadow of a Witch
31. Insect Ark, The Vanishing
Notes: To say nothing of the honorable mentions that follow the rest of the list below, immediately we see the problem of so-many-albums-not-enough-space. People talk about a top 50 as ridiculous, like there’s no way you can like that much music. Bullshit. I agonized over how to fit Sun Crow on this list because their Quest for Oblivion felt like it deserved to be here. Ditto that for Arcadian Child. And the achievements of bands like Kadavar, 1000mods and Switchblade Jesus and Insect Ark in breaking the boundaries of their own aesthetics deserve every accolade they can get, and likewise those who progressed in their sound like Cortez, Shadow Witch, Lord Fowl, Hymn, Foot, Black Rainbows, Deathwhite and IAH. Add to that the debuts from Atramentus, Dirt Woman, Jointhugger, Acid Mess and Sergio Ch.’s Soldati, and you’ve got a batch of 20 records — some born of this year’s malaise, some working in spite of it — that vary in sound but are working to push their respective styles to new places one way or the other.
There was no shortage of anticipation for what L.A. cultists High Priestess would do to follow their 2018 self-titled debut (review here), and the three-piece did not disappoint, instead gave a ritual mass that included the 17-minute concept piece “Invocation” alongside infectious and ethereal melodies like “The Hourglass.” And now that the circle’s been cast? Seems like they can do anything.
High-powered cosmic metal from Finland pulling apart heavy psychedelia on an atomic level with an urgency that speaks of youth, progress and an ingrained need for exploration? Sign me up. A lot of bands on this list put out their first album this year. There are few for whom my hopes are as high as they are for Polymoon. If you haven’t yet heard Caterpillars of Creation, do.
Of the sundry horrors 2020 wrought, a new album from long-running Toronto three-piece Sons of Otis was an unexpected positive, and their ultra-spaced, murky riffs on their first studio album since 2012’s Seismic (review here, also here) launched like a slow-motion escape pod of righteous doom (s)tonality. There will never be another Sons of Otis. Be thankful for everything you get from them.
Organ, Mellotron, sitar, acoustic and electric guitars, various percussion elements, and of course the inimitable fragility in Craig Williamson‘s voice itself — the ingredients for Lamp of the Universe‘s Dead Shrine were familiar enough for those familiar with the one-man outfit running more than two decades, but the lush acid folk created remains a standout the world over. Dead Shrine was a much-needed gift of peace and meditation.
The debut album from Colorado’s BleakHeart collected pieces united by melody and overarching atmosphere, positioned stylistically somewhere around heavygaze or heavy post-rock, but feeling less limited to genre bounds than some others working in a similar sphere. As a first outing, it brought a promise of things to come even as the depths of its mix seemed to swallow the listener entirely, equal parts serving claustrophobia and escapism.
There is not enough space here to properly commend Pale Divine founding guitarist/vocalist Greg Diener on how much he opened up the band by bringing in his and drummer Darin McCloskey‘s former Beelzefuzz bandmate Dana Ortt on shared guitar, vocal and songwriting duties. Completed by Ron “Fezz” McGinnis on bass/vocals, Pale Divine are a refreshed and ready powerhouse of American traditional doom.
One is going to have to get used to the idea of Uncle Woe residing in the places between, I think. An inward-looking cosmic doom that’s likewise morose and reaching, opaque and translucent, Phantomescence could be almost troubling in its feeling of off-kilter expression. Yet that’s exactly what multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Rain Fice was going for. Thriving on contradiction, exploratory, and individualized. Start from doom, move outward.
I don’t feel like I’m cool enough to offer any substantive comment on what Chicago’s REZN do, but their sax-laced heavy psychedelia comes across warm and is invitingly languid while still delivered with a sense of energy and purpose. It rolls and you want to roll with it, so you do. They were clearly hurt by not being able to tour this year, as were audiences for not seeing them. Call them neo-stoner metal or whatever you want, these songs deserve to be played live.
A revamped lineup for South African desert-ish heavy rockers Ruff Majik brought producer Evert Snyman in as co-conspirator with frontman/principal songwriter Johni Holiday, and found the former trio working as a five-piece with a broader sound underscored by an electric sense of purpose and willingness to push themselves to places they hadn’t gone before. Their third record, it seemed as well to be a new beginning, and they met the challenge head-on.
The underheralded children of rolling fuzz riffage, Connecticut’s Curse the Son found new depths of emotion to bring to Excruciation — and I do mean “depths.” Dark times for dark times. Fueled by personal hardship, turmoil, motorcycle accidents and a pervasive sense of struggle, the LP was nonetheless a triumph of their songwriting and brought new melodic character to their established largesse of tone. Your loss if you missed it.
Business as usual in ferocious heavy/speed rock from The Atomic Bitchwax on Scorpio — and that was only reassuring since the band’s eighth full-length marked the first since the departure of guitarist/vocalist Finn Ryan and his replacing with Garrett Sweeny, a bandmate of founding bassist/vocalist Chris Kosnik and drummer Bob Pantella in Monster Magnet. They barely stopped to cool their heels and yet still managed to be catchy as hell. How do they do it? Jersey Magic.
Such pervasive melancholy could only be derived from Irish folk, and so it was on Cinder Well‘s No Summer, which managed to move between singer-songwriter minimalism from Amelia Baker and arrangements of deceptive and purposeful intricacy. Wherever it went, from traditional songs “Wandering Boy” and “The Cuckoo” to originals like “Fallen” and the nine-minute “Our Lady’s,” it was equal parts gorgeous and sad and resonant. It remains so, despite the fleeting season.
Their fourth album and first since crossing the decade-mark since their inception, Pallbearer‘s Forgotten Days wasn’t just heavy, emotional or big-sounding; it was the most their-own of anything they’ve done. It felt exactly like the record they wanted it to be, and reconfirmed that the generation of listeners being introduced to doom by their music is going to be just fine if they follow the cues laid out for them here.
—
17. Slift, Ummon
Released by Stolen Body and Vicious Circle Records. Reviewed March 26.
Less a reinvention of space rock than a kick in its ass, Slift‘s Ummon pushed well past the line of manageability at 72 minutes and reveled in that. The French outfit were greeted as liberators when they released the album, and with the way the respect has been maintained in the months since they’ve given themselves a high standard to meet, but there’s only promise to be heard as you get lost in the nebular wash of this sprawling 2LP. They’ll have two more records out before this one’s fully digested.
The first album in half a decade from long-established UK death-doom forebears My Dying Bride found vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe coping with his daughter’s cancer diagnosis and translating that into the morose poetry for which the band is so well known and with which they’ve been so influential. My Dying Bride has never wanted for sincerity, but to call them affecting here would be underselling the quality of their craft and the heart they put into it. Follow-up EP is already out with extra non-album tracks.
Denmark’s Causa Sui may be on a mission to unite jazz and heavy psychedelia — and blessings on them for that — but the mellow jammy vibes they conjured on Szabodelico only emphasized how much it’s the character of what they do and the chemistry they’ve brought as bandmates that has allowed them to branch thusly in terms of aesthetic. It was the kind of album you wanted to put on again even before it was over, and its sweet instrumentals felt born to a greater timeline than a single year can encompass.
I’m not a punk rocker, but All Souls make me wish I was. Their emotive and engaged heavy rock looks out as much as in on Songs for the End of the World — their second LP behind a 2018 self-titled debut (review here) — but it’s undeniably punk in its foundation, and what the four-piece of Antonio Aguilar and Meg Castellanos (both ex-Totimoshi), Erik Trammell (Black Elk) and Tony Tornay (Fatso Jetson) have put together builds on that in exciting, inventive and individualized ways, while staying nonetheless true to its roots.
Five years after their debut album, Rocket Science (review here), Boston four-piece Kind return with Mental Nudge. And despite the different situations in which it finds the band’s members — bassist Tom Corino is now ex-Rozamov, drummer Matt Couto now ex-Elder — the group’s focus remains on carving memorable, mostly structured tracks out of ethereal heavy psychedelia, guitarist Darryl Shepard (Milligram, etc.) and vocalist Craig Riggs (Roadsaw, Sasquatch, etc.) adding space and melody to the crunching, driving grooves.
Founded by vocalist Farida Lemouchi (ex-The Devil’s Blood) and guitarist Oeds Beydals (ex-Death Alley, also ex-The Devil’s Blood) and commissioned as a project for Roadburn Festival 2019 (review here), Molassess are inextricably tied to Lemouchi‘s groundbreaking former outfit and its tragic ending, but the musical branching out into darkened progressive textures on Through the Hollow isn’t to be understated. It was an album that pushed past the past, not overlooking it, but finding new ways of moving forward in life and sound.
While of course the Mos Generator frontman is no stranger to writing or recording on his own, Funeral Suit was Tony Reed‘s debut as a solo artist and it carried his progressive stamp in melody and arrangement. It was not just a guitarist playing acoustic instead of electric, and it was not a manifestation of self-indulgence. Whether it was reworking a Mos Generator song like “Lonely One Kenobi” or pursuing a new piece like the title-track or “Waterbirth,” Reed found balance between personal and audience, evoking traditional songsmithing even as he reminded listeners of his dual role as a producer.
Spectacular showing from Kingston kingpins Geezer with Groovy as their first offering for Heavy Psych Sounds. Led by guitarist/vocalist Pat Harrington, the three-piece brought material that flowed with the organic feel of jams despite being structured and catchy songs. In pieces like “Dead Soul Scroll” and “Drowning on Empty,” they melded stonerized groove with what felt like genuine emotional expression, and “Dig” and “Groovy” still managed to be a heavy fuzz-blues party. And they still had room at the end to jam out on “Slide Mountain” and “Black Owl.” It was nothing but a win, rising to the occasion on every level.
So Bob Balch from Fu Manchu and Gary Arce from Yawning Man have a band. They get Tony Reed from Mos Generator on board. Mario Lalli from Yawning Man/Fatso Jetson comes and goes. Nick Oliveri comes and goes. Bill Stinson from Yawning Man plays drums. Alain Johannes sits in on vocals. Reed does a bunch of vocals; his kid does a track too. Per Wiberg from Spiritual Beggars, Opeth, Candlemass, etc., lends some keys. What do you call such a thing? Who cares? You call yourself lucky it exists. They called the record Vision Beyond Horizon. Can’t wait to find out what they call the next one.
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8. Elder, Omens
Released by Armageddon Shop and Stickman Records. Reviewed April 27.
Omens marked a new beginning for Elder as the band pushed deeper into the realm of progressive rock and beyond their weightier beginnings. The arrival of Georg Edert (also Gaffa Ghandi) on drums in place of Matt Couto shifted the band’s dynamic in a number of ways, providing not a swinging anchor for the rhythm section necessarily, but another avenue of prog fluidity. Bassist Jack Donovan brought a steady presence in the low end as guitarist/vocalist Nick DiSalvo and guitarist/keyboardist Mike Risberg embarked on new melodic explorations while staying loyal to the band’s established penchant for sweeping changes. Omens may live up to its name as a sign of things to come, but either way, it was a strong display of the band’s will to pursue new ideas and methods.
First words that come to mind here: “eminently listenable.” With seven tracks and 36 minutes, Reverie may not have taken up much of your afternoon… once. But by the time you gave it its proper respect and listened through three times in a row, the situation was somewhat different. The Lafayette, Louisiana, four-piece gracefully brought together structured songwriting with proggier leanings and were able to bring together rampaging hooks like “Trace the Omen” and “Manifest,” casting a sense of sonic hugeness without forgetting to add either melody or personality along with that. The band — who here welcomed bassist Thorn Letulle alongside guitarist/vocalist James Marshall, guitarist Shadi Omar Al-Khansa and drummer Thomas Colley — have worked quickly and evolved with a sense of urgency. Is Reverie the goal or another step on that path?
Vocalist/cellist Jackie Perez Gratz (interview here), guitarist Max Doyle and drummer Zack Farwell comprise Grayceon, and with their fifth record, the band looks around thematically at environmental devastation through the lens of record-breaking California wildfires from their vantage point in the Bay Area. Even as the world shifted priorities (at least most of it did) to yet another global crisis in the COVID-19 pandemic, genre-melting-pot songs like “Diablo Wind,” “The Lucky Ones,” and “This Bed” reminded of the horrors humanity has wrought on its battered home, and still managed to find hope and serenity in “And Shine On” and “Rock Steady,” a closing duo that shifted to a more personal discussion of family and one’s hope for a better future for and by the next generation. 2020 had plenty of horror. At least we got a new Grayceon record out of it.
When Sho’Nuff asked Bruce Leroy “who’s the master?,” dude should’ve said Brant Bjork. It would’ve been a confusing end to Berry Gordy’s The Last Dragon, but ultimately more accurate, as Brant Bjork‘s homegrown kung fu was unfuckwithable as ever on the album that shares his name. After two decades of solo releases in one form or another, Bjork is not just a pivotal figurehead for desert rock, he’s a defining presence, as well as one of its most treasured practitioners. Brant Bjork, the album, brought initial waves of funk in “Jungle in the Sound,” explored weedy worship in “Mary (You’re Such a Lady)” and toyed with religious dogma in offsetting that with “Jesus Was a Bluesman” while still tossing primo hooks in “Duke of Dynamite” and “Shitkickin’ Now” ahead of the more open “Stardust and Diamond Eyes” and the acoustic closer “Been So Long.” With Bjork recording all the instruments himself, a due feeling of intimacy resulted, and yet he still found a way to make it rock. How could it be otherwise?
Why do I feel the immediate need to defend this pick? I’m not sure. Norway’s Enslaved are an institution, not just of black metal, but of bringing an ideology of creative growth to that style that often willfully resists it. They are iconoclastic even unto their own work. Utgard was released as the band stood on the precipice of 30 years together and yet it stood as their most forward-looking offering yet, as co-founders Grutle Kjellson (bass/vocals) and Ivar Bjørnson (guitar/sometimes vocals), as well as longtime lead guitarist Arve “Ice Dale” Isdal backed up the change from 2017’s E (review here) that brought in new keyboardist/vocalist Hakon Vinje with the incorporation of drummer Iver Sandøy, who doubles as a vocalist (and triples as a producer). The “new blood” made all the difference on Utgard, allowing Enslaved to piece together new ranges of melody in their work and offset instrumental shifts into and out of krautrock-derived progressions. Simply the work of a band outdoing itself from a band who does so at nearly every opportunity.
Every year I allow myself one addendum pick, and this is it. We Are was on last year’s list because it was digitally released, but the vinyl came out this year and it received its North American release this year as well, so it seemed only right to acknowledge that. So here it is in its proper place.
This is a band controlling their own narrative. Instead of Nothing as the Ideal being ‘the one they made as a three-piece,’ the Nashville outfit decided to make it ‘the one they recorded at Abbey Road.’ Were they thinking of it on those terms? Yeah, likely not, but it goes to demonstrate all the same just how much of themselves All Them Witches put into what they do musically, since not only are they continuing to refine and define and undefine their approach, but they’re setting the terms on which they do it. Each of their records has been a response to the one prior, but that conversation has never been so direct as to make them predictable. So what are they chasing? Apparently nothing. I’m not entirely sure I buy that as a complete answer, but I am sure I love these songs and the experiments with tape loops and other sounds that fill these spaces. Whatever they do next — or even if nothing — their run has been incredible and exciting and one only hopes their influence continues to spread over the next however many years.
There was a high standard set by Elephant Tree‘s 2016 self-titled debut (review here), but their second LP, Habits, surpassed even the loftiest of expectations. With vocals centered around harmonies from guitarist Jack Townley and bassist Peter Holland, the former trio completed by drummer Sam Hart brought in guitarist/keyboardist John Slattery (also sometimes vocals), and the resultant breadth gave the material on Habits spaciousness beyond even what the first album promised. Drifting, rolling, unflinchingly melodic and somehow present even in its own escapism, Habitswas not just an early highlight for a rough 2020, but a comforting presence throughout, and the further one dug into tracks like “Sails,” “Exit the Soul,” “Faceless,” “Wasted” and the acoustic “The Fall Chorus,” the more there was to find — let alone “Bird,” which I’ll happily put against anything else one might propose for song of the year. As their former UK label crumbled, Habits emerged unscathed and Elephant Tree‘s future continues to shine with ever more hope for things to come. Being able to say that about anything feels like a relief.
Twenty years ago, Sweden’s Lowrider put out what would become a heavy rock landmark in their 2000 debut, Ode to Io (reissue review here). A follow-up years in the making even after the band got back together to play Desertfest in London (review here) and Berlin in 2013, Refractions first saw limited release in 2019 as part of Blues Funeral‘s PostWax series (discussed here), but its proper arrival was in early 2020, and there was really no looking back after that. It wasn’t just the novelty of a new Lowrider album that made Refractions such a joy, but the manner in which the band went about its work. There was no pretending that 20 years didn’t happen. There was no attempt to recapture the bottled lightning that was the first record, and Lowrider did not sound like a band “making a comeback” rife with expectations and fan-service. Refractions acknowledged the legacy of Ode to Io, sure enough, but as a step toward adding to it in meaningful and engaging ways. The songs — “Red River,” “Ode to Ganymede,” “Sernanders Krog,” “Ol’ Mule Pepe,” “Sun Devil/M87” and the 11-minute finale “Pipe Rider” — were fashioned without pretense and came across as the organic output of a band with nothing to prove to anyone but themselves. They made it their own. In a wretched year, Lowrider shined.
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The Top 50 Albums of 2020: Honorable Mention
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Yeah, okay. There are a lot of these, so buckle in. Last year I just threw out a list of bands. This year I’m a little more organized, so here are bands and records alphabetically.
Across Tundras, LOESS ~ LÖSS
Across Tundras, The Last Days of a Silver Rush
Alain Johannes, Hum
Arboretum, Let it All In
Bell Witch & Aerial Ruin, Stygian Bough Vol. 1
Black Helium, The Wholly Other
Boris, No
Brimstone Coven, The Woes of a Mortal Earth
CB3, Aeons
Celestial Season, The Secret Teachings
Crippled Black Phoenix, Ellengæst
Cruthu, Athrú Crutha
Domo, Domonautas Vol. 2
DOOL, Summerland
Dopelord, Sign of the Devil
Dwaal, Gospel of the Vile
Elder Druid, Golgotha
Ellis Munk Ensemble, San Diego Sessions
Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou, May Our Chambers Be Full
EMBR, 1823
Familiars, All in Good Time
Forlesen, Hierophant Violent
Galactic Cross, Galactic Cross
The Heavy Eyes, Love Like Machines
Hum, Inlet
Human Impact, Human Impact
Humulus, The Deep
Jupiterian, Protosapien
Kariti, Covered Mirrors
Khan, Monsoons
Kingnomad, Sagan Om Ryden
King Witch, Body of Light
Kryptograf, Kryptograf
Light Pillars, Light Pillars
Lord Buffalo, Tohu Wa Bohu
Lord Loud, Timid Beast
Lotus Thief, Oresteia
Malsten, The Haunting of Silvåkra Mill
Mindcrawler, Lost Orbiter
Motorpsycho, The All is One
Mountain Tamer, Psychosis Ritual
Mr. Bison, Seaward
Mrs. Piss, Self-Surgery
Mugstar, GRAFT
Murcielago, Casualties
Oranssi Pazuzu, Mestarin Kynsi
Paradise Lost, Obsidian
Parahelio, Surge Evelia Surge
The Pilgrim, …From the Earth to the Sky and Back
Pretty Lightning, Jangle Bowls
Psychlona, Venus Skytrip
Puta Volcano, AMMA
Ritual King, Ritual King
River Cult, Chilling Effect
Rrrags, High Protein
Shores of Null, Beyond the Shores (On Death and Dying)
Sigiriya, Maiden – Mother – Crone
Six Organs of Admittance, Companion Rises
16, Dream Squasher
Slomosa, Slomosa
Somnus Throne, Somnus Throne
Steve Von Till, No Wilderness Deep Enough
Stone Machine Electric, The Inexplicable Vibrations of Frequencies Within the Cosmic Netherworld
Sumac, May You Be Held
Temple of the Fuzz Witch, Red Tide
Temple of Void, The World That Was
The Kings of Frog Island, VI
Tia Carrera, Tried and True
Turtle Skull, Monoliths
Uffe Lorenzen, Magisk Realisme
Ulcerate, Stare Into Death and Be Still
Vessel of Light, Last Ride
Vestal Claret, Vestal Claret
Vinnum Sabbathi, Of Dimensions and Theories
Wight, Spank the World
Wino, Forever Gone
Yatra, All is Lost
Yuri Gagarin, The Outskirts of Reality
By no means is that list exhaustive. And to look at stuff like Psychlona, Oranssi Pazuzu, Wight, Wino, Puta Volcano, Kingnomad, Ellis Munk Ensemble, Paradise Lost, Alain Johannes, Arbouretum, Uffe Lorenzen, Tia Carrera — on and on and on — I can definitely see where arguments are to be made for records that should’ve been in the list proper. I can only go with what feels right to me at the time.
Together with the top 50, this makes over 110 albums in the best of 2020. If you find yourself needing something to hang your hat on, be glad you’re alive to witness this much excellent music coming out.
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Debut Album of the Year
Molassess, Through the Hollow
Other notable debuts (alphabetically):
Atramentus, Stygian
Bethmoora, Thresholds
BleakHeart, Dream Griever
Crystal Spiders, Molt
Dirt Woman, The Glass Cliff
Dwaal, Gospel of theVile
Electric Feat, Electric Feat
Familiars, All in Good Time
Galactic Cross, Galactic Cross
Human Impact, Human Impact
Jointhugger, I Am No One
Light Pillars, Light Pillars
Love Gang, Dead Man’s Game
Malsten, The Haunting of Silvåkra Mill
Might, Might
Mindcrawler, Lost Orbiter
Mrs. Piss, Self-Surgery
Parahelio, Surge Evelia Surge
Polymoon, Caterpillars of Creation
Ritual King, Ritual King
SEA, Impermanence
Slomosa, Slomosa
Soldati, Doom Nacional
Somnus Throne, Somnus Throne
SpellBook, Magick & Mischief
Spirit Mother, Cadets
Temple of the Fuzz Witch, Red Tide
The Crooked Whispers, Satanic Melodies
White Dog, White Dog
Notes: I sparred with myself every step of the way here. The last couple years I’ve tried to give the top-debut spot to not just a new band, but a new presence. Green Lung, King Buffalo, etc. Molassess, with members from The Devil’s Blood, Death Alley and Astrosoniq, isn’t exactly that. So what do I do? Do I go with something newer like Polymoon, Dirt Woman, BleakHeart, SEA, White Dog or The Crooked Whispers, or something with more established players like Molassess, Soldati, or even Light Pillars?
In the end, what made the difference was not just how brilliant the songs on Molassess’ Through the Hollow, but how honestly the band confronted the legacy they were up against. The songs had a familiar haunting presence, but they were also moving ahead to somewhere new. It was that blend of old and new ideas, and the resonant feeling of emotional catharsis — as well as the sheer immersion that took place while listening — that ultimately made the decision. Turns out I just couldn’t escape it.
And why not a list? Because this feels woefully inadequate as it is. I reviewed over 250 records this year one way or another — and that’s a conservative estimate — but a lot gets lost in the shuffle and somehow it just seemed wrong this time around to call something the 13th best first record of the year. I wanted to highlight the special achievement that was the Molassess album, but really, all of these records kicked my ass one way or the other.
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Short Release of the Year 2020
King Buffalo, Dead Star
Other notable EPs, Splits, Demos, etc.:
Big Scenic Nowhere, Lavender Blues
Coma Wall, Ursa Minor
Conan/Deadsmoke, Doom Sessions Vol. 1
Fu Manchu, Fu30 Pt. 1
Grandpa Jack, Trash Can Boogie
Howling Giant/Sergeant Thunderhoof, Masamune/Muramasa (split)
Oginalii, Pendulum
Kings Destroy, Floods
Lament Cityscape, The Old Wet
Limousine Beach, Stealin’ Wine +2
Merlock, That Which Speaks
Monte Luna, Mind Control Broadcast
Mos Generator/Di’Aul, Split
Pimmit Hills, Heathens & Prophets
Rito Verdugo, Post-Primatus
Rocky Mtn Roller, Rocky Mtn Roller
Spaceslug, Leftovers
10,000 Years, 10,000 Years
The White Swan, Nocturnal Transmission
Thunderbird Divine, The Hand of Man
Witchcraft, Black Metal
Notes: If you were wondering why King Buffalo’s Dead Star (review here) wasn’t on the big list, this is why. It was pitched to me as an EP and that’s how I’m classifying it. I’m taking the out. Is it an EP? Not really, but neither is it a full-length album, given its experimental nature and focus around its extended two-part title-track. Whatever it was, it was the best that-thing, and this is the category where such things go.
Again, tough choices after King Buffalo. Thunderbird Divine’s EP was wonderfully funk-blasted and woefully short (new album, please). The newly-issued Spaceslug EP branches out their sound in fascinating ways as a result of the lockdown. Witchcraft’s acoustic EP, Coma Wall’s EP and Big Scenic Nowhere’s EP all signaled good things to come, and Howling Giant’s split with Sergeant Thunderhoof was a highlight of the most recent Quarterly Review. There really isn’t a bummer on the list there, from the bitter psych of Oginalii to the industrial metal of Lament Cityscape, the unadulterated riffery of Merlock to the live-captured rawness of Monte Luna.
So again, why no list? Same answer. I want to highlight the progression King Buffalo made in their sound and leave room open elsewhere for things I missed. Please let me know what in the comments. Cordially.
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Live Album of the Year 2020
Yawning Man, Live at Giant Rock
Other notable live releases:
Ahab, Live Prey
Amenra, Mass VI Live
Arcadian Child, From Far, for the Wild (Live in Linz)
Author and Punisher, Live 2020 B.C.
Cherry Choke, Raising Salzburg Rockhouse
Dead Meadow, Live at Roadburn 2011
Dirty Streets, Rough and Tumble
Electric Moon, Live at Freak Valley Festival 2019
Kadavar, Studio Live Session Vol. 1
King Buffalo, Live at Freak Valley
Monte Luna, Mind Control Broadcast
Orange Goblin, Rough & Ready: Live and Loud
Øresund Space Collective, Sonic Rock Solstice 2019
Pelican, Live at the Grog Shop
SEA, Live at ONCE
Sumac, St Vitus 09/07/2018
Sun Blood Stories, (a)Live and Alone at Visual Arts Collective
Temple Fang, Live at Merleyn
YOB, Pickathon 2019 – Live From the Galaxy Barn
Notes: In this wretched year (mostly) void of live music, marked by canceled tours and festivals, the live album arguably played a more central role than it ever has, whether it was a band trying to keep momentum up following or leading into a studio release, taking advantage of the emergence of the Bandcamp Friday phenomenon or just trying to maintain some connection to their fans and the process of taking a stage. Or even playing in a room together. Or not a room. Anything. What was once a tossoff, maybe an afterthought companion piece became an essential worker of the listening experience.
You might accuse desert rock progenitors Yawning Man of playing to their base with Live at Giant Rock (featured here), and if so, fine. At no point in the last 50 years has that base more needed playing-to. And in the absence of shows, being able to hear (and watch, in the case of the accompanying video) Yawning Man go out to the landscape that spawned them and engage with their music was a beautiful moment of reconciliation. An exhale for the converted that didn’t fill one with empty promises of better tomorrows or tours to come, but served to remind what’s so worth preserving about the spirit of live music in the first place. The fact that anything can happen. A replaced note here, a tuning change there — these things can make not just an evening, but memories that go beyond shows, tours, to touch our lives.
There were a ton of live records this year. Some were benefits for worthy causes between saving venues, Black Lives Matter, voting rights organizations, and so on. And whether these were new performances from captured livestreams (Monte Luna, Kadavar) or older gigs that had been sitting around waiting for release at some point (Sumac, Dead Meadow), this, very much, was that point, and these live offerings kept burning a fire that felt at times very much in danger of being extinguished.
Looking Ahead to 2021
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A list of bands. Some confirmed releases, some not. Here goes:
Dread Sovereign, Sasquatch, Year of Taurus, Apostle of Solitude, Weedpecker, Borracho, Love Gang, Jointhugger, Demon Head, Iron Man, Greenleaf, Samsara Blues Experiment, The Mammathus, Evert Snyman, Wo Fat, Conclave, Here Lies Man, Kabbalah, Komatsu, Hour of 13, Wedge, Amenra, La Chinga, Spidergawd, Wolves in the Throne Room, Vokonis, Freedom Hawk, Masters of Reality, ZOM, Eyehategod, Sanhedrin, Green Lung, The Mountain King, Albatross Overdrive, Elder, King Buffalo, Sunnata, Howling Giant, SAVER, Conan, Slomatics, Ruff Majik, Kind, Mos Generator, Yawning Sons, Lantlôs, Brant Bjork, Spiral Grave, Crystal Spiders, Lightning Born, Samavayo, Wovenhand, Merlock, Comet Control, The Age of Truth, Eight Bells, BlackWater Holylight, DVNE, Monte Luna.
Thank You
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You’ve read enough, so I will do my best to keep this mercifully short. Thank you so much for reading — whether you still are or not — and thank you for being a part of the ongoing project that is The Obelisk. I cannot tell you how much it means to me to have such incredible support throughout not just this year, but all the years of the site’s existence. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you most of all to The Patient Mrs. for her indulgence in letting me get this done. I’m amazed forever.
This is exactly what I needed exactly when I needed it. I’m completely serious. Not only was I thinking about how badass this record was just the other day and hadn’t had a chance to put it on again yet, but I feel like Deathwhite‘s Grave Image (review here) perfectly encapsulates the restless and wrenching melancholy of this year so far. “Among Us” is one of the record’s many deceptively catchy tracks, and it just hits that perfect spot somewhere between Anathema and Paradise Lost for me where melody is priority but there isn’t a corresponding sacrifice of impact for that. It’s like if Katatonia had never developed that keyboard fetish. As we move into the second half of this wretched 2020, I still consider Grave Image — the Pittsburgh-based band’s second offering for Season of Mist behind 2018’s For a Black Tomorrow (review here), about which I felt much the same — one of its best albums.
Further, I know that for whatever reason, whenever I write about something even vaguely informed by death-doom as Deathwhite are, it tends to get a pretty barren response. Well, fine. If I’m 100 percent honest, I’m not posting this video today for you. I’m doing it for me. And I’m not hitting play on the Bandcamp stream of Grave Image because I have to out of some perceived obligation, or because I told PR I’d write about the album, or because it was on my fucking calendar — it wasn’t — but here it is. The video showed up just when I needed it and I’m posting it because it’s something I genuinely enjoy. There. That’s it.
The link in the PR wire info takes you to where you can buy the record through a bunch of digital/physical outlets. One of those portal things. Buy the album or don’t. Give a shit about it or don’t. Even as I listen to it now for the first time in a couple months, I’m swept up in it, so whatever you want to do fine. This is all the impetus I needed and I got it.
Here’s the video:
Deathwhite, “Among Us” official lyric video
Enigmatic dark metal outfit DEATHWHITE has shared a brand new video for the song “Among Us.” The video was made by Guilherme Henriques.
DEATHWHITE comments: “As we are often wont to do, many of the songs on ‘Grave Image’ were revised and tinkered with until we were satisfied, but no song received a bigger overhaul than ‘Among Us.’ The song’s original tempo was half of its current state; it was doomy, perhaps excessively so. Common sense ultimately prevailed and we were able to not only speed the song up (a term we should use loosely in this context) but also work in a somewhat basic chorus by our standards. The song itself has a fairly simple message: Ignorance, falsehoods and gaslighting are not to be tolerated. Unfortunately, these people are still ‘among us,’ spreading their untruths and grievances in very public and far-reaching forums. May it all fall on deaf ears.”
“Among Us” is taken from the band’s latest album, ‘Grave Image,’ which was released earlier this year. ‘Grave Image’ can be streamed/downloaded/ordered atTHIS LOCATION.
