If Gloam's previous LP, 2015's Hex of Nine Heads, suggested the path they might tread, this tantalizing EP confirms it, acting as a waypoint towards ever more dismal horizons. As they did on Hex, Gloam display a mastery of the black metal style here, and even with its tragically brief runtime, Death Is the Beginning finds a way to emote vivid scenes of sinister drama.
Tragedy pervades the opener, "Anguish," which festers into a more ravenous breed of evil in "...Of a Carrion Kind." The title track, "Death is the Beginning," is an agonized crawl through mists of eerie strings that plummets swiftly into the black heart of a Cascadian storm.
Indeed, Gloam know how to lay down an engrossing sonic experience, which sadly only highlights the one major downside to Death Is the Beginning: its tragic brevity. This EP passes by much too quickly, leaving you starved and wanting more — though it might be that that was exactly Gloam's intent. Hopefully, this is only the beginning of what we can expect from the band in the near future.
(Blood Music)Tragedy pervades the opener, "Anguish," which festers into a more ravenous breed of evil in "...Of a Carrion Kind." The title track, "Death is the Beginning," is an agonized crawl through mists of eerie strings that plummets swiftly into the black heart of a Cascadian storm.
Indeed, Gloam know how to lay down an engrossing sonic experience, which sadly only highlights the one major downside to Death Is the Beginning: its tragic brevity. This EP passes by much too quickly, leaving you starved and wanting more — though it might be that that was exactly Gloam's intent. Hopefully, this is only the beginning of what we can expect from the band in the near future.