Instrumental Doom

Clouds Taste Satanic, Tales Of Demonic Possession (Majestic Mountain 2023)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , , ,

Let the new music from Clouds Taste Satanic engulf you: Tales Of Demonic Possession.

Clouds Taste Satanic is the best instrumental doom band in the land. I have been a fan for as long as I have been aware of them. For about ten years and across six previous full-length albums (plus the exceptional Satanic Singles series), the metal quartet from New York has shown itself to be limitlessly inventive. The new album adds not only to their canon, but to their legend and lore. The band is Sean Bay (bass), Steven Scavuzzo (guitar), Greg Acampora (drums), and Brian Bauhs (guitar).

There are four long tracks on the new album, one for each side with each running about twenty minutes in length. First is “Flames and Demon Drummers.” The song begins softly and quietly. The music is a bit melancholy, but otherwise light-hearted. The big guitar riffs do enter, and they land firmly, with the rhythm wall standing up an avenue for the lead. The composition charts a path and sees it through, encountering a few unexpected ripples along the way. “Sun Death Ritual” follows and opens with an invitational guitar posture, bringing in the doom sentiment shortly thereafter. The guitar is very active, as it must be on all the tracks, really, carrying a lot of the weight in the instrumental setting. The sound here is grimier than the first track, in the best possible way. It turns spacey then comes back, and toward the end there is a march through a dark land that is harrowing, indeed. Fantastic.

The second disc gives us “Spirits of the Green Desert” on side three. The wind whistles through the crusty rocks and you begin to hear drumming in the distance. The music that comes up is a clear indication that spells are being cast nearby. What is not immediately clear is the manner of magic being invoked. The heaviness of the music is a sign, but before you know enough to react, you are bewitched, fixed in place, immersed. “Conjuring the Dark Rider” is the final piece. It is the most dramatic to my ears, and the song with the most narrative clarity. There is a fantastic jam just before midway that stays with me even now. The ending demonstrates incredible sway. This is excellent music all the way through, and it is exactly what I was hoping for in the new record. Highly recommended.

Tales Of Demonic Possession is out on Friday, February 3rd in multiple formats, including vinyl, through Majestic Mountain Records. Have a look at the links below.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://cloudstastesatanic.bandcamp.com/album/tales-of-demonic-possession

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/CloudsTasteSatanic

CTS roundup at FFMB, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2020/04/07/a-quick-look-at-clouds-taste-satanic/

Majestic Mountain Records, https://majesticmountainrecords.bigcartel.com/

© Wayne Edwards

Clouds Taste Satanic, Tales Of Demonic Possession (Majestic Mountain 2023)

Atomic Trip, Strike #3 (Tentacles Industries 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

Instrumental doom purveyors Atomic Trip forge ahead with their third album, Strike #3.

I am beginning to sense a pattern. French instrumental stoner doom band Atomic Trip has now released three albums, each one named Strike, followed by a number. On each record, there are two tracks, each titled “Bomb,” followed by a number. So, the third album is Strike #3 and the songs are “Bomb #5” and “Bomb #6.” That makes things easy to keep track of, and if you are as high as you might be for this music, it is good to keep some things simple.

The stage names of the musicians in the band are Jean-Claude VanDoom (guitar), Grom Tattooer (drums), and Gary McDoom (guitar). The origins of Atomic Trip stretch back to before 2017, when their first album came out. Honing their talents in my favorite heavy genre – instrumental metal – each new “Bomb” exists on a new level. I became addicted to music in this vein by listening to Clouds Taste Satanic and Earthless. Three albums in, Atomic Trip now joins these bands on permanent rotation wherever I go.

Side one, “Bomb #5,” 24:15. You find here a pacing and distance unconcerned with the outside world. A short lead-in gives way to titanic guitar riffs crashing through the existence around them. Once through, new levels of meaning are clear. At times noisy, and sometimes instead almost demure, the music, rolling its final moments out in tumbling percussion, is oblivious to categorization.

Side two, “Bomb #6,” 20:49. The next track takes a quicker start and then pushes even harder on the heaviness. In the second half, there is desert doom boogie that elevates the discourse and then takes it back to the founding principles. The finish is searing. Recommended.

Strike #3 is out now in digital, with vinyl coming up in March. You can listen for free at Bandcamp and decide if you want to preorder the LP at the label’s site. Links below.

Band photo by Alispictures.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://atomictrip.bandcamp.com/album/strike-3

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/atomictripdoom/

Tentacles Industries, https://tentaclesindustries.bigcartel.com/artist/atomic-trip

© Wayne Edwards

Atomic Trip, Strike #3 (Tentacles Industries 2022)

Stones Of Babylon, Ishtar Gate (Raging Planet 2022)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , , ,

Instrumental doom band Stones of Babylon unfurl their second full-length album, Ishtar Gate.

Stones of Babylon is from Lisbon, Portugal. They play a psychedelic-infused brand of instrumental doom. They came together five years ago, and have released a demo, a live album, and the debut long-player Hanging Gardens. The band is Alexandre Mendes (guitar), João Medeiros (bass), and Pedro Branco (drums).

What’s the album about, you ask. “Somewhere in Babylon, in a space almost lost in time, the eighth gate of the city was erected. Like any door, the Ishtar Gate symbolizes access to coded worlds, the closing of crossroads, or simply the thunderous force of power.” When you peruse the track list, you get a further idea of the geographic and mythological locus of the themes explored in the music. In any case, with instrumental music you can make it about anything you want when you listen. However, in this case, the music matches the theme perfectly and knowing the ideas behind it all improves the listening.

There are six long tracks on the album, starting with “Gilgamesh (…and Enkidu’s demise).” The riffs are massive and extra buzzy, filling the space around you ears. The first lead guitar enters a couple of minutes in, and a little later, the Middle Eastern nuances of the music step into the spotlight. The pairing of these seemingly divergent attitudes is one of the main sources of the music’s strength. “Anunnaki” follows, stepping in with a lighter approach than its predecessor. Quiet and cautious, the music builds slowly. You wait more than two minutes for the wall of guitar to bowl you over. “Pazuzu” begins with a spoken narration (from The Exorcist) introducing the evil spirit for which the song is named. To me, the riffs on this song are the most threatening so far – they generate at least trepidation, if not fear. The quieter passages, then, stage an anticipation that evolves quickly into dread. Well done.

Side two: “The Gate of Ishtar,” “The Fall of Ur,” and “Tigris & Euphrates.” The final three songs are where I was absorbed fully into the music. Each track is quite different, and yet they go together like movements of a larger whole. You can listen to one at a time, but I think the experience is greatly enhanced by taking it all in at once in a single sitting. I love instrumental doom music and Stones of Babylon does it right. Highly recommended.

Ishtar Gate is out now through Raging Planet Records in digital, CD, and vinyl. For this one, I would go with vinyl. The music lends itself to the form.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://stonesofbabylon.bandcamp.com/album/ishtar-gate

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/stonesofbabylon

Raging Planet Records, http://ragingplanet.pt/

© Wayne Edwards

Stones Of Babylon, Ishtar Gate (Raging Planet 2022)

Doomed and Stoned, The Instrumentalists Vols. 1-4 (2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , , ,

Exactly what it looks like: a massive, four-volume compilation of instrumental Doom.

On their Bandcamp profile, Doomed and Stoned is described this way: “Sharing the music and the stories of the heavy underground since 2013, Doomed & Stoned seeks to document the explosion in doom metal and stoner rock, two styles that have grown up together since the 1970s and exist today in incredible stylistic variation and artistic excellence.” Their website features interviews and new release reviews, and they also sponsor some amazing compilations. I am most enamored with The Instrumentalists Vols. 1-4.

There are 87 tracks altogether across four digital albums. I tried to calculate the total running time and my calculator melted. The included bands range from iconic Doom instrumentalists like Clouds Taste Satanic to many I am sure you have never heard of before – I heard dozens of bands for the first time on these albums. I’m not going to list all the bands here because there are too many and it’ll just look like a name salad. Hit the link below to see the details of what’s up.

I am a longtime fan of instrumental metal and I have written about it regularly. Any subgenre of heavy music can be expressed without vocals, and Doom is especially well-suited to an instrumental treatment. Desert-Stoner-Doom can roll endlessly on the broad river of sound that exists outside of the human voice. It is captivating and engaging in a short engagements and over the long haul. There is no downside.

Is it too much Doom? Ridiculous. Of course not. There is never too much doom. Instrumental Doom can be focused on as the center point of what you are doing or it can be played in the background in an endless variety of situations. With these compilations, you are going to be set for a while. Highly recommended.

All four volumes of The Instrumentalists are available now on Bandcamp.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://doomedandstoned.bandcamp.com/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/DoomedStoned/

Doomed and Stoned, https://doomedandstoned.com/

Doomed and Stoned, The Instrumentalists Vols. 1-4 (2021)

Clouds Taste Satanic, Cloud Covered (Kinda Like Music 2021)

Wayne Edwards, , , , ,

The full album containing all the singles from the Satanic Singles project plus two new tracks has made its way to the earthly plane.

I have been telling you about this for months. A quick recap…

“This New York instrumental metal band is peopled by these fine persons: Steve Scavuzzo (guitar), Rob Halstead (bass), Greg Acampora (drums), and Brian Bauhs (guitar). For years on end they have been producing their unique brand of vocal-free doom (and doom-adjacent) heavy music, typically in long form. Recently they decided to shift gears a bit a put out a series of shorter cover pieces as singles, leading to a collection early in Spring.” The full collection is titled Cloud Covered and here it is now.

So, I have been waiting to hear these last two songs for some time. It was worth it. There are two duos, “Not Fragile” / “Free Wheelin’” from Bachman Turner Overdrive and “In the Flesh?” / “One Of these Days” from Pink Floyd. That is covering a lot of ground. The BTO pair is a down-and-dirty, no-shower-havin’ road trip and it is fantastic. The Pink Floyd double is more theatrical in the first place and more cerebral in the second. Very trippy, too, and the longest song of the ten in the series. If you are in an enhanced frame of mind when you listen to it, you will take flight.

It has been a good long trip and as glad as I am to see these last two bricks in the road get laid, I am also sad to see it end. But then there will be more music from Clouds Taste Satanic down the path and anyway let’s live in the now. Recommended.

There are vinyl, CD, and digital forms for this complete album. Even if you have the singles, picking up this album is a good decision.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://cloudstastesatanic.bandcamp.com/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/CloudsTasteSatanic/

Spotify, https://open.spotify.com/artist/5QidF8yXlvTyGkDy24JImY

YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvVu8mcXrE2eVjq_ApcGBmw

Overview Article on Clouds Taste Satanic, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2020/04/07/a-quick-look-at-clouds-taste-satanic/

Clouds Taste Satanic, Cloud Covered (Kinda Like Music 2021)

Clouds Taste Satanic, The Satanic Singles, review (Kinda Like Music 2020)

Wayne Edwards, , , ,

Instrumental Doom Metal masters Clouds Taste Satanic embark on a new project, The Satanic Singles.

If you are unfamiliar with Clouds Taste Satanic, it is past time to get acquainted. The quick take is they compose and perform instrumental doom metal music. We did an overview article on them earlier this year (link below) that was an alacritous stroll through their catalogue. That is a good place to catch up on what they have out there.

Typically, their songs are very long – as in often around the twenty minute mark. The band has decided to try a new direction for a minute and record shorter cover songs. The Satanic Singles is a project planned to be released in four parts, one each month until February when the full length Cloud Covered album comes out (with additional tracks not released in the singles series).

Volume 1 has two tracks. Side A is a cover of Elton John’s “Funeral For A Friend,” and Side B is the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey, “Also Sprach Zarathustra.” The second side is about what you would expect – it has a big sound in the first place, that theme, and it translates well into the band’s idiom. The Elton John cover, on the other hand, could have gone in any of a number of directions. Running at about half the length of John’s original, CTS focuses on the most compelling instrumental elements, bringing an enduring heaviness to the music but not what you would really call doom. A diversion that is an engaging difference to the Yellow Brick Road centerpiece, I’d say. Recommended.

Grab this first single at Bandcamp. There are vinyl versions, too, but some are already sold out. Check it out fast.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://cloudstastesatanic.bandcamp.com/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/CloudsTasteSatanic/

Spotify, https://open.spotify.com/artist/5QidF8yXlvTyGkDy24JImY

YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvVu8mcXrE2eVjq_ApcGBmw

Overview Article on Clouds Taste Satanic, https://flyingfiddlesticks.com/2020/04/07/a-quick-look-at-clouds-taste-satanic/

Clouds Taste Satanic, The Satanic Singles, review (Kinda Like Music 2020)

A Quick Look at Clouds Taste Satanic

Wayne Edwards, , ,

What got me started on this was the reissue of The Glitter of Infinite Hell which dropped a few weeks ago. It had been out of print for a while (in the physical) so the new issue is great for fans. I listened to it again, and started (figuratively) thumbing through the rest of the catalogue. It made me want to do a flash review of their every release. So here we are.

Firstly, Clouds Taste Satanic is an instrumental doom band that came together in Brooklyn in 2013. The members include Steve Scavuzzo (guitar), Sean Bay (bass), Greg Acampora (drums), and Brian Bauhs (guitars). I am a giant fan of instrumental metal music and CTS is one of the best bands doing it. What really stands out about their music is that when you are listening to it you do not spend any time waiting to hear vocals because you aren’t thinking about them and you genuinely don’t miss them at all. These compositions are specifically designed to create emotion, content, and context without voice, and they work to dramatic and powerful effect. I have written just a couple sentences on each release about what my first thoughts were listening to them again today. I think you should listen for yourself and see what they do to you. I do not have a favorite on this list. They all sound great to me.

To Sleep Beyond The Earth (2014). This is one long song in four parts, a total of 44 minutes and 51 seconds. The first part sets up the conflict while the second is reflective. The third part to me seems like the argument where opposing positions are voiced and fought over. In the final part, the conclusion is far from inevitable but you could guess at it successfully and it does bring everything together. The album is heavy, solid doom and it is a loud signal of what was to follow.

Your Doom Has Come (2015). This album has six songs of varying lengths which are not necessarily related to each other. Overall, it is more aggressive than the first album, especially songs like “One Third of the Sun” and “Beast from the Sea” which are like a punch in the face as well as a kick in the head. Louder and angrier in tone, this music is a new space for the band.

Dawn Of The Satanic Age (2016). What I hear in this music is a march to power. A steady campaign toward a goal. As with the previous release, there are six songs on this album, and here they have the shortest average running time of all the material to date. It is almost like they are building blocks, or are part of a sort of chrysalis that will become something else. It is all about going somewhere, becoming something bigger.

The Glitter Of Infinite Hell (2017). There are four songs on this album, “Greed,” “Treachery,” “Violence,” and “Wrath,” each running in the 18 minute range. It begins and ends with a deadly sin, and in the middle we have betrayal and (presumably) bloodshed. I’d say these certainly go together thematically. The music in every song calls out to form a golem that carries out the deed, an avatar that conjures the elemental essence of the concept.

Evil Eye (April 2019). In the first of two releases last year, there are two songs, about twenty minutes each. “Evil Eye” is as creepy and sinister as the title implies, creating an atmosphere of dread and a constant feeling of peril and impending disaster. It is like listening to a dramatic, horror-filled play. “Pagan Worship” is more solemn and casts the mind’s eye toward a broader spectrum of endeavor with an under-bite of sadness. It is also fraught with inevitability, especially in the second half.

Second Sight (October 2019). In the second release of 2019 there are again two songs, this time a little over twenty minutes each. “Second Sight” is a vigorous caprice, endlessly energetic. It has more changes, turns, and shifts than I could count and is filled with endless surprise. “Black Mass” starts not with a fade in but with the drop of a heavy hammer. The guitar, bass, and drums keep that hammer pounding throughout, and the overlay of piercing leads details the message. The music turns ceremonial about 14 minutes in before snapping into the blistering final movement. This is the band’s sixth full-length release and there is no sign of repetition or slowing of creativity.

So there you have it. Six doom albums, all finding different ways to express human and mystical consequences of being. You can listen to Clouds Taste Satanic music anytime – in the background or with deliberative and precise focus. Loud or quiet, day or night. All their music is available on streaming services, and there are some physical copies floating around out there, but there a little hard to find sometimes – the very inspiration for the Glitter reissue. Highly recommended.

Links.

https://cloudstastesatanic.com/

https://cloudstastesatanic.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/CloudsTasteSatanic/

A Quick Look at Clouds Taste Satanic