Stoned Reverence To Doom

Like many I've been waiting patiently for new material by Seattle's Samothrace.  2008's Life's Trade is a phenomenal record - perhaps one of the best records of all time in the greater doom genre.  Needless to say, expectations are quite high for Reverence To Stone.

My vinyl copy came in from 20 Buck Spin yesterday and I am delighted.  All of the trademark elements of Samothrace's sound are still present five (perhaps slightly turbulent) years later. Furthermore there seems to be a deliberate and purposeful refinement in their songwriting. The two pieces that comprise the album bare an exquisite preciseness; I have no doubt that the band took their time to make sure these songs matched exactly their creative vision, and it is clearly audible.

The greatness of Samothrace is in the passage of riff to riff, motif to motif...each lavishly explored, beginning with a sense of self-manifestation and ending like a phoenix combusting into its next form - a drawn but beautiful series of auricular movements. Though these tracks clock in at roughly 15 and 20 minutes, they don't feel anywhere near that long. Completely capturing the undivided attention of the listener, they surround as they pass and effortlessly carry you along throughout their full run.  Riffs twist and turn up steep slopes, gaining speed as they approach a mountainous peak in a heaven of dense misty clouds and refracting sunlight setting against a broad colorful horizon...and then they dissolve into the dark and brooding depths of cold, damp caverns harmonically rich with feedback and noise, guttural wailing, and sparse reverberating percussion.  Reverence To Stone ascends and then descends, saturated in a profoundly awakened heaviness and affection for cathartic melancholic beauty - it is an intense experience, and highly recommended.

You can listen to the album online thanks to Pitchfork. I've embedded their uploaded tracks here for your convenience...enjoy!

Subsequenaut

Intronaut is busy working on material for a new record expected sometime next year. They released this short video earlier today, and while it doesn't give much away it definitely gets me pretty amped. Valley Of Smoke saw Intronaut treading quite a bit of new ground in exploring sonic possibilities; it provided a variation of Intronaut without compromising their core character or quality. What's in store for 2013? Is it bad that I am already expecting my mind to be blown? When I listen to this I cannot help but want to pick up my guitar and create copious amounts of loud.