ALBUM REVIEW: Eremit – Carrier Of Weight

Here I review the new, debut full length album from EREMIT a Sludge/Doom Metal band from Germany. Set for release via Transcending Obscurity Records on February 25th!

1. Dry Land begins with mournful ambience, setting a dark mood for the start that soon becomes rather dissonant. Bleak clean guitars set in for a depressive follow up to the ambience along with simple cymbal hits. Croaking vocals also join in, creating a strange vibe. Sludgy riffs accompanied by a hell of a growl soon take us into Doom Metal heaven. The fuzzy guitar tones, crashing drums and hideously harsh growls slam out catatonically heavy grooves and punchy rhythms effortlessly. The punishingly heavy attack of the song is absolutely brutal. Pummelling drums and catchy grooves fill the air with ancient soundscapes of spectral fuzz. The truly magnificent spirit of Doom Metal is captured in its raw essence here. With interwoven clean breaks, the monstrous momentum rebuilds for walls of Doom noise to knock you back down again. The production captures every element so beautifully too. An astonishingly brilliant first track.
2. Froth Is Beckoning starts off with feedback and ridiculously slow cymbal hits before dropping abruptly into mid paced grooves. The warm crunch of the guitars is gorgeous, the drums crashing away and everything really feeling like it is in its proper place. The aggressive style of the riffs is really catchy and menacing, adding a bit more anger to the release’s vast array of sounds. The vocals have this stunningly haunting blackened edge to them that works beautifully with the instruments too. The whiplash pace of the track is just fantastic with so many excellent bars of brutally gnarly riffs and drums, topped by the vitriolic vocals mentioned before. Out of nowhere the song drops into almost silence with clean guitars and hideous screams, a truly atmospheric and emotionally moving interval within this crushing piece. The decimating grooves once more return, sounding heavier than ever due to the contrast and brilliant songwriting. The tones and production really hit hard with each blow from the instrumentals hitting harder than the last. Another ludicrously wonderful song!
3. Cocoon Of Soul is the final piece to this doomy trilogy, although it is also another very long track (at over 30 minutes). Starting off with strange samples that certainly add a discomforting touch the music. Haunting clean guitars soon come in, adding a chilling darkness when coupled with the sampled parts. The ambience of this introduction really does create a foreboding atmosphere. The slowly growing and incredibly depressive piece of music truly feels like a journey, with the knowledge something stupefyingly heavy is just around the corner. Gorgeously built in drums and guitars soon develop from the brooding introduction. The catatonic pace and psychedelic effects on the guitar mixed with the monotonous drums is incredibly mesmerising and has an ensnaring effect on you. With a scream, the sudden drop into furiously heavy and groovy Doom Metal riffs begins. Pounding assaults on drums and visceral howls from the vocalist met with the fuzzy and raunchy guitars sounds absolutely killer, truly hypnotising, gruesomely crushing Doom Metal. The storming assault of pure crunchy vibes and slow paced soundscapes really draws you in from start to end of this slow-burn piece of music. A truly amazing bit of closure for the release filled with variety and wonderful musicianship / songwriting. The song is consistent yet changes enough to not become repetitive, plus the guitar solo added an unexpected but very ambient touch to things. Truly fantastic!

This is real Doom Metal. Slow drudging songs, filled with fuzzy guitar riffs, insanely catchy grooves, pounding drums and harsh screams. The real spirit of darkness and walls of heavy sounds hit in unison throughout this amazing release. A must for fans of true Doom Metal, the way it should be! -8.5/10