Like any torturer administering peine forte et dure, Scottish doom lords Of Spire & Throne don't add all of the weight at once, but instead slowly, methodically add a stone at a time until you're crushed. The first track, "Legacy," begins almost innocuously, with a simple but persistent throb of guitar that is gradually added to, accreting heaviness, percussion and distortion until it builds into a roiling thunderhead, heaving its monstrous way across a blasted musical landscape. Crawling along at a glacial, relentless pace, this massive three-song collection has an almost frightening sense of momentum, the kind of irresistible force that's capable of rearranging mountain chains and uprooting forests.
The production, courtesy of James Plotkin, is compelling and wonderfully clean for a doom record, giving each bright ring of the cymbal just the right bit of merciless shimmer in contrast to the tar pit guitar tone and Ali Lauder's volcanic vocals. A brilliant doom offering capable of swallowing the listener alive, Toll of the Wound blossoms darkly, revealing its riches the more time and care you can devote to it.
(Broken Limbs)The production, courtesy of James Plotkin, is compelling and wonderfully clean for a doom record, giving each bright ring of the cymbal just the right bit of merciless shimmer in contrast to the tar pit guitar tone and Ali Lauder's volcanic vocals. A brilliant doom offering capable of swallowing the listener alive, Toll of the Wound blossoms darkly, revealing its riches the more time and care you can devote to it.