Tom Carter & Pat Murano

Four Infernal Rivers

BY Bryon HayesPublished Jun 16, 2014

9
The mythological Greek underworld had five rivers, and four of them are represented on this absolutely brilliant double LP of melted guitar and electronic improvisation, one for each side of wax. Both Tom Carter and Pat Murano are stalwarts of the American psychedelic underground, the former a founding member of Texan droners Charalambides and the latter one of the many heads that comprise New York's ultra-freaky No Neck Blues Band.

A collaboration of this nature was always going to be a slam-dunk, and it was evinced on the duo's untitled debut, which arrived at the tail end of 2013. With Four Infernal Rivers, they manage to sound even more sinister and blustery, heaving slabs of guitar goo and otherworldly murk until the pile of sonic detritus becomes unbearably mind-blowing. The sheer force with which the music unfolds is tantamount to the heat wave from a wall of fire, or the breath of Hades himself. Four Infernal Rivers is apocalyptic in its unbridled intensity and a phenomenon unto itself.
(MIE Music)

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