Lowered - Lowered (2018)
Coming at us from the fertile musical
landscape of Portland, Oregon, the debut LP from Lowered brings the
group into action with half an hour of black doom metal, emphasis on
the black side. Split across four songs, the band gives each piece
extensive development, shifting through riffs and rhythms with sharp
flexibility while keeping the speeds high enough to get your brains
rattling. Melodic progressions are given clear presence in the midst
of the slamming, and the breaks into sparser instrumentation are
handled with enough deftness to slide them right in without
detracting from the songs' flow. The vocals are suitably demonic,
with a good balance of rasp and groan, and their fine meshing with
the grinding tone of the guitar gives the band an extra notch of
distinction to their sound, on top of the impressive flow control
they maintain through the lengthy tracks. Though the album was
originally released back in February, it's been picked up for vinyl
reissue by Throne Records, with regular and deluxe editions available
in addition to a few test pressings. Hopefully the band will keep up
their momentum and provide a follow-up before too long, but in the
meantime, there's plenty to savor here. Something for you fusion fans
with a taste for the harder stuff.
~ Gabriel
For Fans Of; Alraune, Earthling,
Hesperian Death Horse, early Opeth, Trees
~
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