whining, entitled commenter poor, tortured soul beneath a latest overview of mine. Nicely, ask and ye shall obtain, because the saying goes. Right here I’m to current to your leisure, enjoyment(!), and important evaluation, The Otolith, a band that has risen from the ashes and sports activities 4 members of symphonic doom quintet SubRosa. Lacking is vocalist Rebecca Vernon, whose new challenge, The Keening, appeared on 2020’s Girls of Doom compilation, which was additionally the place The Otolith first hove into view. The identical yr, The Otolith additionally contributed a shocking cowl of “Would?” to the Alice in Chains tribute album, Filth (Redux). However we’ve needed to wait virtually two years for The Otolith’s full-length debut. With Folium Limina now right here, will the band burst into life like a phoenix rising from the SubRosa ashes or go down in flames like Icarus?
The Otolith contains former SubRosa members Sarah Pendleton, Kim Cordray, Andy Patterson and Levi Hanna, plus Visigoth bassist Matt Brotherton. And, it’s honest to say it roughly picks up the place SubRosa left off. Singer and violinist Pendleton has mentioned, for instance, that the riffs for the epic “Sing no Coda” have been within the making for years, but it surely wasn’t till she had bought by means of the turmoil of 2020 that she may begin writing lyrics for it. Like their former challenge, The Otolith specialises in big, avant-garde doom, with monolithic melancholy the order of the day. Sonorous, glacial riffs slide previous and over one another like calving icebergs crashing into frozen seas as ghostly violins wend their means over the floor. The waters run deep and chilly right here, with the gorgeous 13-minute “Sing no Coda” opening the report and setting the bar sky excessive. Pendleton’s vocals are a haunting mixture of hovering, almost-choral cleans (“Sing no Coda”); chanted, semi-ritualistic strains (“Ekpyrotic”); and deep, hoarse roars (“Hubris”).
Set to the large, sweeping soundscapes conjured by the remainder of the band, the result’s mesmerising, drawing comparisons to the likes of Clouds and King Lady. The sawing violins—Pendleton and Cordray—lend an ethereal magnificence to the report, notably on the attractive “Ekpyrotic” and “Sing no Coda”. “Hubris” has a barely harsher, doomier edge to it than a number of the different tracks on Folium Limina, however that is softened to unbelievable impact each by these violins and in addition by the important thing preparations that creep within the again finish. Using sampled vocals in metallic could be disastrous, however when executed effectively—like on my 2021 album of the yr, Kanonenfieber’s Menschenmühle—they will elevate the entire thing. So is confirmed by The Otolith’s masterful use of the ultimate speech from The Nice Dictator, Charlie Chaplin’s first true sound movie. Like Chaplin’s speech, the observe on which it seems, “Bone Mud,” builds steadily in depth and fervor, rising to a fevered crescendo.
Certainly, because the world appears ablaze on so many fronts—together with right here within the UK—”Bone Mud” feels just like the “anthem” or name to arms that 2022 wanted—if epic symphonic doom can ever actually be termed “anthemic.” At 63 minutes, Folium Limina simply passes the hour mark however is executed with such assured ability that I’m rapt from the distant church bell that opens “Sing no Coda” by means of to the ultimate notes of the Isis-tinged nearer, “Dispirit,” which fades out into static and the cawing of crows. Sporting glorious manufacturing, steeped in lush, wealthy textures, with the whole lot completely balanced within the combine, the sound on present does justice to The Otolith’s unimaginable creation.
Maybe I’m alone on this, however I appreciated, greater than liked, SubRosa. In contrast, I can say I’m completely in love with The Otolith. Though cooking with roughly the identical fundamental substances, for me, Folium Limina is on one other stage. In all probability closest in tone to For this We Fought the Battle of Ages, the sludgier, extra noise-driven parts of SubRosa’s sound have been dialed again barely, in favor of a richer, extra densely textured sound, with out sacrificing the inventive essence. Haunting and fascinating, the phoenix-from-SubRosa-ashes is the improper analogy for The Otolith, because the band’s creation right here is just not merely a rebirth however surpasses what went earlier than.
Score: 4.5/5.0
DR: 4 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Blues Funeral Recordings
Web sites: theotolith.bandcamp.com | fb.com/otolithic
Releases Worldwide: October twenty first, 2022
