There are records that, when you put them on, you can tell this isn’t just a collection of songs, but a lived experience. You can tell from the grit, the humanity, the shed blood, the intensity, and indication that every ounce of the musicians poured guts into the songs. These aren’t records you put on and forget. They linger in your mind like a ghost.
Irish doom/sludge pounders Soothsayer deliver that kind of experience on “The Unbinding,” their second record and first for Apocalyptic Witchcraft. Over five tracks and 45 minutes, the band—vocalist Liam Hughes, guitarists Marc O’Grady and Con Doyle, bassist Pavol Rosa, drummer Gerard O’ Callaghan—delivers darkened hell, informed by grief and rage but also delving into the essence of their home country. This is a record that weighs more than it seems on the surface. It will batter you to your core but also might carve a pathway to confronting your own chaos.
“Eroding the Sky” opens mystically before driving down the hammer, ripping with throaty howls, slowing just to snarl at you, sorrow boiling your blood. Yells barrel as the tone darkens, lurching playing grows muscular, and Hughes wails, “Move past the barriers!” Leads stretch as the heat spits sparks, driving harder and punishing, melting into strangeness. “Sooner Acceptance” drips as the singing delivers pain, trudging as the growls bury, the leads increasing the steam’s stickiness. Guitars cloud as the speed triumphs, ravaging and unloading, meaty blows breaking jaws, the energy spiking. Guitars swim as the drums rumble, sounds simmering as the cloud coverage blocks the sun.
“Endless Shesha” is doomy and sullen, growls menacing, pounding away as the guitars flex muscle. “Chaos inside me!” Hughes howls as the playing pulls back a bit before blowing up all over, storming with furious tension, dropping the final hammers. “The Vine” is eerie and chilling before howls erupt, and the playing sinks in its teeth. Guitars well and smear as desperation fills the air, the bass leading as cloudy melodies increase, growls decimate, and a sinister laugh sends gasps under water. Closer “A Vague Shimmer” is the longest track, running 12:54, throat buzzing haunts as bellowing singing swells, doom crawling over bloodied rock. The singing grips as the guitars moan, yells echoing in the building storm, emotions flooding. Vocals slash as the band delves slightly into progressive territory, growls marring as clean singing warbles, whirry strangeness swallowing.
“The Unbinding” is a fully encompassing experience, one that further establishes Soothsayer’s standing in the doom world and trumpets them as a band that deserves and demands your attention. This record is both brutal and breathtaking, a journey that pulls you through their homeland and into frustration and anger burning in their hearts. This whole thing smokes and dominates, shaking you to your skeletal structure.
For more on the band, go here: https://soothsayerdoom.bandcamp.com/
To buy the album, go here: https://orcd.co/apw066
For more on the label, go here: https://apocalypticwitchcraft.co.uk/
Meat Mead Metal 