Back in 2020 my ears were pummelled by the split Megalith Levitation did with fellow Russkies Dekonstructor and it served as a great stop gap after the previous year’s debut long player Acid Doom Rites.

The trio have been mining the Ural Mountains once more to construct giant slabs of fuzzy stoner Doom to delight fans of Electric Wizard and Bell Witch.  The album is divided into 4 gigantic sections filled with warm deep bass guitar, languid rolling drums and filthy guitar riffs so serrated they cut your cochlea on the way past.  Alongside the eerie chant style vocals the band throw in some piercing black metal style guitar lines which when backed with some baby wah as on the end of opener “Phantasmagoric Journey” both lift the music and send it spiralling further down into a dark depth.

AS with most (if not all) fuzzy stoner doom each track is a mini ep on its own with the band jamming with purpose, finding a groove and really getting into it, dragging the listener in before tweaking things slightly to take another dark path. Midway through Datura Revelations/Lysergic Phantoms the riff which has been grooving for several minutes seems to be pitchshifted and throws the song delightfully off balance with a sound reminiscent of Alice In Chains before segueing from the first part into Lysergic Phantoms. A droning rung out bassline and a Middle East sounding swirling vocal lie underneath a mesmeric repetitive clean guitar line that gives the track a truly tripped out vibe.

Phew – it is time to come down with a bump for the near twenty minute mammoth that is Temple of Silence/ Pillars of Creation. It opens with a big old bludgeoning riff reeking of smoke and sulphur, very, very Electric Wizard. This is one of those riffs that the listener is either going to lock into and get lost in or drift away from.  I must say 11 minutes in I was in the latter camp as the idea seemed to be stretched a little too thin. It was even more surprising when things took an abrupt left turn ala Automan’s car (one for the 80’s kids) and goes all Sleep style psyche stoner with samples – hmmmmmm.  It’s a shame that the longest track on the album seems to have lost its way for this sonic explorer.

“Last Vision” is back to full on fuzz with the guitar sound seeming to break up at one point, almost as if the wiring cannot cope with level of distortion being forced through it. Simply delicious! The baritone sax adds an element of freakishness to the track with the instrument seeming like the voice of a chastising elder – think teachers in Peanuts or the Soup Dragon in the Clangers. Far out!

Void Psalms show that Megalith Levitation have got the riffs and ideas to keep up with the fuzzy crowd if they can rein in some of their more meandering trips. Definitely one to check out to help you check out of reality for 50 mins.

(7/10 Matt Mason)

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https://megalithlevitation.bandcamp.com

https://www.aestheticdeath.com/releases.php?mode=singleitem&albumid=5205