PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
This debut full length album has been on my radar for some time, ever since I stumbled across the ‘Prophecy Of Doom’ 7” that surfaced a while back, I had been chomping at the bit to see whether this project could continue to evolve. A full blown band, a startling side solo project? Opinions tend to be pretty divided as to which but whatever the reality behind the veil, this is seriously good music.
First impression I had whilst listening to the album, was how diverse it is. Yes, to a certain degree, it may seem to some to be constrained within the Black Metal tried and tested framework but to my ears, this wriggles and darts all over the place. The one constant however that remains, is the overwhelming sense of darkness and oppression, whether it comes from a Black Metal angle, or from a more Doom driven slant is wholly immaterial, the beauty of it is that it works.
The title track opener is a sublime piece of dark craft work, interspersed with demonic chanting and funereal paced riffs, that certainly give you a good indication as to what is in store. Following track ‘Infinite Consciousness’, whilst maintaining the depressive vibe, moves at a much more frenetic pace, harking back to the perhaps more traditional Black Metal sound. Having said that, this record can not be described as being a generic, stereotypical example of the genre, containing copious amounts of turns and swings to both tempo and mood, that ensure a wholly satisfying, if not suitably disturbing listening experience.
The audio assault is pretty much unrelenting throughout the six tracks on offer, the wonderful ’Mahakala’, standing out in my opinion. If I could forcibly thrust one of these six delicious tracks down your gullet and into your bowels, then I would choose closing track ’The Catacombs Of The Mandala’, a finer, more rounded piece of demonic, bilious, soul destroying Metal, would be seriously hard to find. Oozing that wonderful, yet sadly elusive combination of musical excellence, coupled with the power to melt your mind and send you to a dark recess, from whence you may never return.
Let us be honest, this album is hardly likely to set the charts on fire, and in a perverse way I am glad. This is real, organic underground music that will appeal to the few, and the already converted. I invite you to take a step into the unknown and immerse yourself in an album that could very well surprise and delight.
Track Listing ;
1. The Cosmic Trance Into The Void
2. Infinite Consciousness
3. Death In The Abyss Of Meditation
4. Into The Bowels Of The Absolute
5. Mahakala
6. The Catacombs Of The Mandala
The Album sees its release on the 30th of January via Iron Bonehead
https://www.facebook.com/IronBoneheadProductions?fref=ts
