A Storm of Light ‘And We Wept The Black Ocean Within’ CD 2008

A Storm of Light 'And We Wept the Black Ocean Within' CD 2008And here we have a band formed by Josh Graham (also Neurosis’s Visual Director and ex-Red Sparowes member) that explores the vast ocean floor of Doom and his former bands respective aural vective. This certainly sits at the higher browed end of the doom genre, and what you would expect from the label and Graham’s previous musical output. It is a massive, slow-rolling monolith of pressurized deep aquatic sound that will transport you to the very depth’s of the oceans floor. A hideous dark world of crushing pressure, long sunk shipping vessels and the deep oceans own strange dwellers.

The album has a strikingly vivid lyrical and visual expression not often seen within our genres of the music we so endearingly obsess over, metal! Graham as chief protagonist has created a world that is truly immersable (oh dear, sorry). He uses various vocal stylings from a sung drone-like despair to angered bellows, the music also follows suit. The album flows from walls of distortion and power chord doom to quiet ambience, and they make use of electronics and aural soundscaping to create this dark world.

Early tracks ‘Vast and Endless’ and ‘Thunderhead’ display A Storm of Light’s more aggressive guitar led doom dirge, and it’s murky, evocative Neurosis-styled stuff. As you draw further into the album you’ll discover later songs ‘Descent’ and ‘Iron Heart’ that loose you in the depths. ‘Descent’ in particular, the song starts with a distant storm, like waves crashing on the surface but heard from 50 metres down, this fades as your drawn further into the cold dark abyss. It is a powerful album and one to check out for anyone interested Graham’s fellow bands Neurosis and RS. It is DOOM indeed.

Label: Neurot Recordings
Website: www.myspace.com/astormoflight

Scribed by: Andrew Sloan