Death metal that sounds like it originated in the sewers might not be the most attractive descriptor to some people. They can fuck off today, because we have the second full-length from Virginia Beach-based death and doom crushers Night Hag, and to hail from a beach town and be this acidic and putrid, you know some wires burnt mentally.
“Great Dismal Darkness” is a perfect title for this record that is as ugly, noise-warped, and guttural as one could imagine, and then they drag your face into the murk even deeper. The band—vocalist/drummer Jon Ransom, guitarists Casey Williams and Joe Arida, bassist Sam Fox—smothers you over seven tracks and 43 minutes of mucky violence, making you pay the price. But you’ll be happy you stopped by because the bludgeoning is worth it.
“Drowned in Death” starts weird and filthy, crushing everything under metallic weight, clobbering as soot accumulates in mouths. The pace slows and feels like it’s dragging bodies, death growls crawl into gore, noise hangs, and doomy horror takes us home. “Effluvia Tendrils” delivers bendy guitars, burly growls, and a quaking foundation, darkening as the sentiment continues to sicken. Infernal ugliness stagers into unspeakable torture, the playing lumbers as growls mash, and gurgles wash down the drain. “It Came Back the Next Night” opens in smoking doom, clubbing as growls warble, and the guitars add extra punishment. Death smears as the bass buzzes, calculated filth turns into an insurmountable fly ash pile, and the guitar steam wilts flesh.
“Staring into the Ancient Chasm” is doomy and smoking, the leads glimmering through the fog, the pace charring. The agony slows yet goes even harder, power battles as guitars fume, and morbidity fades away. “Strange Whispers from Beneath the Cypress” opens as a drum attack, the pounding penetrates, and growls scrape congealing wounds, everything going into a higher drive. Molten hell slowly flows, the tempo lurches, and screeches peel strips from your psyche. “The Terrible Old Woman” mauls, guitars aching along the way, a putrid sense turning stomachs. Guitars feel funereal as the temperatures climb, and bruises mark flesh. Closer “Excoriate” is raw and ripping, growls crushing, the leads burning their way into sludge. The pace takes its time driving knees into your ribs, the leads unload, and growls creak, lashing back for one last retch.
Night Hag’s style of death metal and doom isn’t polished or fun to look at, but it’s incredibly effective, evidenced by “Great Dismal Darkness.” There’s nothing high concept or scientific going on here; it’s a gory ass kicking that will leave you humiliated but kind of liking it? Not like that. It’s a wound that festers, and for some reason you enjoy the pain.
For more on the band, go here: https://nighthag666.bandcamp.com/
To buy the album, go here: https://www.rottedlife.com/rotted-life-releases
For more on the label, go here: https://www.rottedlife.com/
