DOOM^{or be doomed}

Black Boned Angel - Bliss and Void Inseperable

And you thought Sunn O))) was extreme? - 84%

Black Boned Angel is a one man project run by the same guy who does the more blissed out Birchville Cat Motel (at least, I think he does.) This band doesn't have too much in common with them though, as this is doom at it's slowest and downer-est. Obvious comparisons would be Sunn, Earth, Khanate and definitely Boris, though this album is slower then all of them, and as a one song record it will test most people's patience.

Nonetheless, there's enough changes in here to keep the more dedicated drone fans interested. The album starts off with an incredibly low sub bass that goes on for ages, and then soon riffage kicks in. It's slow and very much sunn inspired, and it sounds really awesome. It's definetly the heaviest guitar tone I've ever heard, so distorted and bassy, but not quite as muddy as you'd think. I think Stephen O'Malley needs to take note of this guitar tone! The riffing is all nice and good, and there's a few other things that creep in and out to keep you interested. There's some drumming, which is so minimalistic that you think "What was the point of even putting it in??" But, it enhances the steady pounding of the riffs which is all good. There's an incredible amount of layered feedback on here, all bleating away all dissonant and pained. You can see why this guy doesn't need vocals, as the feedback gives all the tormented emotion you need.

Of course, feedback and drums aren't that unusual in drone. But what was totally unexpected for me was the slightly atonal, very creepy piano. The only piano I've heard before in drone was terrible (that being O))) bow 1 & 2 in Sunn's Flight of the Behemoth) but this fits so perfectly, and is so terrifying and stuff. It's so great, and for the piano I'm awarding ten bonus points to this album. The whole feedback/drums/piano/drone combo crawls along, and starts slowly disintegrating round the 45 or so minute mark. The ending is all feedback, which slowly gives way to some low level noise.

The more I listen to this album the more I like it. It's real long, and it's not an album you'll want to listen to very often, but it is very well done and doesn't get too boring. Still, only the most hardcore drone fans should get this, as it's not particularly easy listening. I like it, but it's not exactly an enjoyable listening experience, so it gets 74, + 10% for the piano.



By: C.Y.