EREMIT - 'Carrier of Weight' [German Sludge/Doom]

Band: EREMIT
Release: CARRIER OF WEIGHT
Label: TRANSCENDING OBSCURITY RECORDS
Genre: DOOM / SLUDGE
Location: LOWER SAXONY, GERMANY
Link: https://eremitdoom.bandcamp.com/


Predatory beginnings. A calm before the storm. A slow, minimalist start to opening track ‘Dry Land’ before the crushing weight of doom descends. ‘Carrier of Weight’ is the debut album from Eremit, a sludge doom band from Germany’s Lower-Saxony region. And the name is an apt choice, for the band's style is once of density, huge monolithic riffs, combining with a drum style that crashes and pounds at a snail’s pace. Far from being a one trick pony, the opening 23 minute long stanza is a mountain region of doom. One moment plunging to bass fuelled fuzzy depths, the next wandering the dark paths of cold instrumental interludes. So whilst the groove drenched slow riffs are wailing and the treacle like drums are pounding, so the bass is rumbling hypnotically whilst over it all tortured, angst ridden grows emanate from the gloom. Towards the climax of ‘Dry Land’ the flow slows even further, the temperature drops and the vocal work becomes deeper, more spiteful and tortured. ‘Dry Land’ is my definition of a doom metal epic, lengthy, barbaric, and crushing, and one hundred per cent intoxicating. Think Reverend Bizarre’s ‘Fucking Wizard’ or ‘They Use Dark Forces’ but with a darker, far more primal sound. I imagine that in a live setting the bass alone will be dripping from the walls as the riffs wash over the crowd!

‘Froth of Beckoning’ is a relative interlude on this album, weighing in at merely 11 minutes. And the interlude similarities don’t end there. Compared to the two lengthy tracks of slow, oppressive crushing doom, this one is the faster, catchier, more Conan-like meat in the sandwich. Still dripping in buzzing ferocity but a relative palette cleanser as it were. That said, this one too has a tendency to drop back into slower, sludge drenched barbarity and raw vocalled intensity. It’s the song's very diversity that really brings it alive.

On to the finale and the epic masterpiece of this stunning opus. Again things start almost peacefully in the 33 minute marathon that is ‘Cocoon of Soul’, a mournful piece of guitar work overlapped with the sounds of a sailing vessel creaking in the surf. Subtle, soft drum strokes slowly insinuate themselves into the mix and things gently start to crest, whilst a quiet venomous growl rises from the bowels of the ocean to be just about heard. As the pace quickens ever so slightly, in comes the bass to bolster the ever increasing sound, which by now is rising dangerously close to crescendo. And then, around the seven mark comes the crushing doom of old, monstrous riffs punishing the unwary, ravaged vocal work sewing forth darkness and bile, and more slow paced beats and bass keeping things powerful and deathly slow. Around 11 minutes in and the pace increases slightly, a more atmospheric style of riff-age is added and things take on a more groovy element, mixed with an icy feel. As has gone before, Eremit don’t like to stick to one simple style for too long and deviate often to keep things interesting. You can also reckon with some pleasing guitar solo work that soars skywards whilst the other riffs, bass and drums crash around your feet in a destructive symphony of sludge.

An amazing album, doom metal played exactly how I like it to be played. No other summary is required. [9.5 out of 10]