Bloodmoon Stream “The Singing Flame” from Voidbound LP Remaster
Posted in audiObelisk on December 9th, 2014 by JJ Koczan
Originally put out by the band on CD and tape late last year, Bloodmoon‘s debut full-length Voidbound is available now to preorder on vinyl through Black Voodoo Records ahead of a Dec. 20 release date. The three-song LP from the genre-bending San Luis Obispo trio — who’ve dubbed their progressive, metallic, blackened and sludgy style “grey metal,” which is at very least more efficient — has been remastered by James Plotkin for its 12″ platter edition, but honestly, even if it hadn’t, and even if it was still streaming on their Bandcamp page (no doubt it will be again soon), I’d still want to stream a track from it for the simple reason of how willfully individualized it is and how effectively Bloodmoon blend elements of different styles into what sounds like the beginning of a progression all their own. Particularly for being a first album — they also released an EP, Orenda, in 2012 — Voidbound is admirably ambitious and sets a high standard of accomplishment from which guitarist/vocalist Peter Tomis, bassist Pat Mullholland and drummer/vocalist Jason Goldie can work going forward.
Of the three included pieces, “The Singing Flame” is the shortest at 7:17. The closer, it’s also the 
biggest riff on offer, though Bloodmoon never stay in one place too long. Like its longer predecessors, “Voidbound” (17:56) and “Back World” (13:25), “The Singing Flame” works in movements, each part flowing into the next, fading in on an initial tension of rumble and snare work from Goldie before the full plod of the progression takes hold, topped with harsh, echoing vocals somewhere between the post-hardcore rawness of sludge and blackened theatrics. It does not waste time. Playing off the atmosphere crafted over the course of “Voidbound” and “Back World,” it feels like a specially crafted apex shift, but there’s still room for a shift into ambience before the chugging, shouts and double-kick resurfaces, vicious and running along a memorable line of thickened riffing. And if there was any doubt Bloodmoon have more to say, let the fact that “The Singing Flame” fades out while essentially still in progress stand as assurance that it won’t be long before this richly creative trio make a return.
On that note, whether you’ve heard it before or not, I hope you’ll take the time to dig into “The Singing Flame” on the player below. For me, I consider it correcting an oversight for a record that deserved way more coverage than I gave it when it first landed, and I appreciate the opportunity to do so. PR wire info follows underneath.
Please enjoy:
[mp3player width=480 height=200 config=fmp_jw_widget_config.xml playlist=bloodmoon-the-singing-flame.xml]
San Luis Obispo, California’s blackened sludge act BLOODMOON is set to reissue their transformative 2013 album, Voidbound, on limited edition vinyl. The new version has been completely remastered for vinyl by James Plotkin (Sunn 0))), ISIS, Conan, Slomatics).
Gazing into the void with combined effort since 2010, BLOODMOON have been exploring the musical elements of sludge, doom, stoner, black and death Metal with heavy doses of psychedelia to give themselves a highly distinctive sound of their own. Over the past two years, the band has released two albums, embarked upon several tours, and played countless shows all over the west coast at any given point in between. Between shows, they are continually writing with the self-imparted directive of releasing new music every year while always experimenting with different ways to bring the heavy in their own way.
As if traveling an entire, bitter lifetime, Voidbound takes you for a ride through curiosity and emptiness in three movements. And once it ends, feels as though it has taken part of you back into the depths it calls home.
