With NADJA releasing the same album five times every year and JESU moving away from the sound of their s/t release, ‘Ambient Drone Metal’ is a genre which is unfortunately stagnating in its rather apt slow evolution and repetitiveness. I profess to really enjoy releases coming under this banner, however, there are only very few albums which I can truly say are set apart from the vast sea of monotony so unfortunately encompassing the majority of current practitioners.
‘Weighing Souls With Sand’ sits right up there with the very best the style has to offer. The music held on the CD is raw, emotional, mesmerising and very, very loud. The band’s sound is constructed with ultra-distorted and downtuned guitars and highly-mixed bass with simple but effective drumwork. Vocals are present, but generally entrenched in a dense layer of reverb and the surrounding drones; they are used more as another instrument than anything else.
The album is not all full-speed-ahead, however; ‘Dying In A-Minor’ contains more subtle ambiance and the drums get a higher platform in the title track with their accompaniment to a slow-jam section.
The subtle variations in tone and approach are really what sets this release apart from others. From the experimentation with dissonance in ‘Burning In The Undertow Of God’ to the drowned screams of the vocals in ‘The Resonance Of Goodbye’, the album flows between different characteristics and makes sure that there is never a dull moment.
Since the album is more about atmosphere and emotion that anything else, I won’t sit here and pick it apart any longer as this would undermine its underlying beauty. Instead, I will simply highly recommend that you search out this record and give it an hour of your time; if you are a fan of music with a perfect sense of mood and spirit, you shall not be disappointed.
– Simon Brand
VITALS:
Release: 2007
Label: Profound Lore Records
Avantgenre: Ambient Drone Metal
Duration: 55:34
Origin: USA
Official site: http://www.myspace.com/theangelicprocess
Review online since: 02.02.2011 / 20:17:51
TRACKLIST:
01 – The Promise Of Snakes
02 – Million Year Summer
03 – The Resonance Of Goodbye
04 – We All Die Laughing
05 – Dying In A-Minor
06 – Weighing Souls With Sand
07 – Mouvement – World Deafening Eclipse
08 – Burning In The Undertow Of God
09 – Mouvement – The Smoke Of Her Burning
10 – Hidden Track
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