Drowned has been gearing up to release its debut record for an awfully long time. Formed in Berlin way back in 1992, they have thus far released seven demos and one EP over a twenty-year period spanning from 1993-2013. In the coming days, at long last, they will be able to pop down to their local Saturn (or equivalent music merchant), pick up a copy of ‘Idola Specus’ and proudly state: “Hier ist unsere CD!”. Fantastical scenarios aside, it must be an exciting time for the occult death metal band – and particularly sole founding member/guitarist Timnn.
‘Die niederen Weihen’ gets us underway, with some blank strums and mysterious deathly whispers before the power chords fall down like a hammer. Thoughts that Drowned might be a typical ‘occult’ death band are partially dispelled by the opener, which curiously brings to mind the start of Satyricon’s last record (though don’t read much into this brief analogy!). It’s down to ‘Antiprism’ to really get us entangled in barbs of misery infused death metal. Opening with lethargic doom-filled riffs, it all becomes a bit more intricate and certainly deathly around the two minute mark. Rhythms collide against each other; tightly picked riffs shoot out amid barrages of double bass work; and G.ST’s burnt vocal pipes emit their unhallowed roars. Appropriately, ‘Destroyed Voices’ bounces out next: first, like Swedeath before some thick, black riffs pour out like pyroclastic flow. Hints of the usual occult suspects (see below) pervade the music, but I particularly like the drum pattern which halts proceedings and takes us into yet blacker dimensions reminiscent of Morbid Angel.
By and large the pace is of a slower nature – as evidenced in the likes of ‘Black Projection’ and ‘Negative Form’, which come across like some of Incantation/Immolation’s more wretched efforts. In both cases, doom riffs slice across wandering drum patterns at a rumbling, barbarous pace before the odd curveball is thrown in. With regard to the latter, this comes in the shape of the fastest, most raucous riff of the entire record which tears out a couple of times to leave battered listeners floating in its wake. The album’s highlight though is undoubtedly ‘Gnomon’. Whilst equally epic and doom-ridden to begin with, the track rapidly gains pace with swirling currents of bass pedal and foreboding fret work until eventually we’re in the kind of scene Autopsy creates when they’re about to unleash havoc. And sure enough, havoc is exactly what ensues as neck-breaking riffs smash against flesh like a barrage of stone projectiles. Towards the close of the track, a bit of etherial keyboard can be heard creeping in just to reiterate the sophisticated strand to Drowned’s brutality.
‘Letzter teilbarer Strahl’ again deviates seamlessly between the agonisingly slow and savagely raw before album closer ‘Vacuous Sanctum’ proves to be another epic excursion into morbidity. Both tracks reinforce the ‘drown’ part of the band’s name, being oppressive and consuming. For the duration of the disc in fact, the material overwhelms the listener in this manner. As a result, it’s not as if individual tracks (bar one or two) really work their way into your consciousness. But ‘Idola Specus’ is more about the vibe it emits in its entirety. And in this respect, Drowned’s debut is a success – both evil and murky, with isolated glimmers of beauty shining through the morass.
(8/10 Jamie)
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