Edinburgh's masters of misery Of Spire & Throne
satisfy my craving for tectonic heaviness in a way few other bands can.
Their devastating dirges have had me swaying perilously close to
collapse the couple of times I've caught them live, and their latest
release Toll Of The Wound captures their particularly intense strain of doom perfectly.
The
disjointed martial rhythm of the opening track can scarcely prepare you
for what's to come, as 'Legacy' erupts in a bludgeoning riff, soon
joined by guitarist/vocalist Ali Lauder's subterranean, subhuman roar.
The cumulative effect is genuinely disturbing, sending a shiver up your
spine before crumbling it into dust, as the band alternate between short
sharp shocks and guitar-strangling sludgier sections.
There's not
a moment of relief to be found, and even the introductory percussive
atmospherics of following track 'Tower Of Glass' will set you on edge,
dreading what could be coming next with every cymbal tap. This sense of
unease continues throughout, as the band never quite bring the track to
any kind of conclusion, with Lauder and bassist Matt Davies seeming more
content to meander malevolently around Graham Stewart's brilliantly
restrained drumming. The looser structure of this track is no bad thing,
but a comfortable listen it is not.
Sure to be one of the few releases this year truly worthy of the word
crushing, this release is currently available on both CD and tape via the US-based Broken Limbs Records, with a vinyl release to follow soon. For UK folks, the band themselves have copies available via their bandcamp.
Check out my full unedited review of this release at Echoes & Dust...
Of Spire & Throne on Facebook | Bandcamp
