Hailing from Texas this band are a relatively new outfit who have so far only released this one EP. It came out originally in 2012 independently before being picked up by Hypnotic Dirge for a bit more widespread recognition. Honed down from a quintet the band obviously stripped unnecessary fat from the equation before laying down these four tracks and they do not beat about the bush giving their intentions away the second play is pressed.
There is no such thing as a subtle intro here as ‘Phasing Currents’ drops in with everything straight up in the mix. With weeping guitar lines leading the way and weaving a miserable tapestry it is instantly evident that this band are worshipping old Katatonia with what they do. The melody is strong and so are the gruff leonine tones of vocalist John Johnston. The depressive tones of this melodic doom laden outfit are nicely expressed but over the 18 minutes of music here there is little in the way of diversification. Apparently the aim of this according to the band was to ‘create a sense of timelessness’ and they have but I have to be honest here this is one that harks back to the early years of the aforementioned Swedes and it is highly lacking in finding any true identity of its own. If this is a style that you like and make no mistake I do, you will no doubt be swept up by the lush maudlin tones of songs like ‘The Untroubled Kingdom Of Reason.’ The blueprint once established is replicated with prowess and obvious passion but it is impossible to shift the thought of the large monster looming over it in the room and after all we already have bands like October Tide already. The fact that Nethermost call a song ‘Dance Of Burning Beasts’ would even be poetic if someone had not already had their own highly influential ‘Dance Of December Souls’
Every song starts in the same fashion too and it is pretty obvious that this lot have plenty of thinking to do before attempting a full length album and seriously have to get a sense of identity of their own. That aside if you want to relive ‘Brave, Murder, Day’ and have worn your copy out this is a fine bit of reverence.
(6/10 Pete Woods)
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