Electronic Voice Phenomenon
Locrian
Drenched Lands
(At War With False Noise/Small Doses)
Similar Sounds: Alan Sparhawk, Stephen O’Malley, Roy Montgomery
File Under: drone, spacial, synth
At first glance, the cover art and font that dots Drenched Lands would have you believe Chicago-based Locrian has released a black metal album. Pentagons, gothic lettering, and a suburban landscape resisting the uprising and reclamation of soil, grass, and tree. If it’s a lesson you have yet to learn, allow Drenched Lands to teach it once more: don’t judge a book by its cover.
While a cliche may herald the arrival of Drenched Lands, there is little worn and tired throughout Locrian’s dark opus. Though many of the themes will be familiar and yes, the landscape darkened by blankets of screams, minor drone, and ominous strums, Drenched Lands exists far from the reaches of 80s and 90s metal–Locrian’s creation is more akin to the doom acts that bridge the indie and underground landscape; the likes of Earth, Boris, and any Stephen O’Malley project.
Yet it’s the ugly duckling tracks–the square pegs forcing themselves in round holes–that shine through the nighttime skies of Drenched Lands. Opener “Obsolete Elegy in Effluvia and Dross” is a darker, stranger interpretation of the lazy strums of Grizzly Bear’s “Deep Sea Diver.” But don’t mistake Locrian and the recent indie phenomenon as kindred spirits, for “Obsolete” slowly morphs into a thick, synthesizer-heavy piece before abruptly calling it quits, as if to keep you from getting comfortable. “Epicedium” mimics the haunting guitar atmospherics of Roy Montgomery’s 80s Liverpool tributes, as well as the recent Loren Connors LP The Curse of Midnight Mary. “Epicedium” builds slowly on hushed drones and high-pitched guitar strums that carefully pierce the Western Front quiet like bird chirps in the rising sun of morning. White noise and frantic strums begin to swallow the calm.
Drenched Lands is finally consumed by its blackened imagery with finale, “Obsolete Elegy in Cast Concrete,” as the once comforting melody that began the album is surrounded by hellish screams and feedback finally engulf the album, sending it to its lightless grave. It’s the life cycle brought to life; mimicked in sound.
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Chain D. L. K.
Artist: LOCRIAN [ landofdecay {at} gmail {dot} com ]
Title: Drenched Lands
Format: CD
Label: Small Doses [ joe {at} small-doses {dot} com]
Rated: 3/5
I had not heard of Locrian, but this seems to be their debut CD release. The label explains that they have been active since 2005, “finding the right blend of noise, power electronics, dark ambient, and black metal to work into their sound.” OK, with track titles like “Barren Temple Obscured by Contaminated Fogs,” you can see some of the black metal influence. I must admit that I am not a huge fan of black metal, but I am a huge fan of noise, dark ambient, and power electronics, so three out of four shouldn’t be bad. Overall, I would have to call this one a mixed bag. Locrian does a pretty good job of trying to build an atmosphere, but in some places it becomes a bit cheesy, for example, the screaming throughout “Barren Temple Obscured by Contaminated Fogs,” which I find to be overdone in most tracks like this. However, on others, such as the 30 minute long “Greyfield Shrines,” they do a great job of building tension and atmosphere without resorting to horror movie samples and the like. Moreover, this seems to be the only track that really approaches anything I would call noise, as the guitars and voice blend into drone and feedback. I would say it is way too long, but nicely done. This would be a decent start for someone into metal who was looking for a bit more slowed down guitar oriented experimental sound, although those who are looking for noise, power electronics, or dark ambient in the vein of Lustmord or anything coming out on the Cyclic Law label will be disappointed. This disc is limited to 1000 copies and weighs in at 64 minutes.
