Ok, well I opened the latest package from Ripple Music and this came tumbling out. Look at that cover. That doesn’t look like stoner rawk, now does it? It doesn’t look like doom and it sure as hell doesn’t look like no fucking trout! (Apologies to the ‘Loff!!!). But look at that, will ya?! That reminds me of something that would’ve come out on some obscure death metal label in 1987 and house a platter of blistering aural vomitus akin to SLAUGHTER’s “Strappado.”
“So exactly what in the hell is this?” you say. What does Portland OR’s VIRAL TYRANT have to offer? It’s on Ripple, who basically never do anything wrong but it appears to be ticking boxes that are afield, dotting t’s and crossing i’s. I slide it in the player and 9:29 later, “The Felling Of The Doom Tree” has me plastered to the forest floor. Damn if this doesn’t sound like a demented cross between THE AMEBIX & EXCITER with cavern vocals from a PAUL CHAIN album and lead guitar work off BARONESS - “Purple.” The real surprises here are the fast-paced sections (hence the EXCITER reference) and the axe solos at the end, which are far more melodic than I expected when the track first got going.
While this opening cut surely has a lot of bells & whistles going for it, so does the rest of the album. “Beloved & Beheaded” (a nod to the musical dichotomy here) is a shorter, evil grinder that recalls CELTIC FROST. “Beacon Omega” is a scorcher, buoyed by plundering death/doom chords, then suddenly whipped into a frenzy by thrash grooves part the way through. This sonic bashing is furthered by tortured vocals, whether they be cavernous plaintive or demonic growling. The lyrics, describing a deep-space horror, only serve to intensify the mood.
Still, my favorite at this point ends up being another 9-minute tour de force, “The Great Traverse.” Perhaps the mellowest track here, it carries a weight that’s may not be obvious until you’re fully submerged. A deliberately paced instrumental, it is wide, full and atmospheric, reminding me of an aurally heavier take on Baltimore’s own ARBORETUM. This is music for meditation on subjects like the weight of a black hole or the depth of your soul.
Have to say, Mr. Todd & crew at Ripple have done it yet again. They’ve proven that they can extend their well-seasoned tentacles into the current bottomless pit of underground heavy music and wrench up a unique winner every time. You know what to do.
VIRAL TYRANT:
Eric Wallace - guitar, vocals
Dylan Fields - guitar
Casey Martin - bass, vocals
Mitch Meidinger - drums
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