• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Black/Doom is one of those hybrids that should make top-notch material on principle, but somehow a lot of bands fuck it up, typically by going post or relying too much on noise rather than actual music to build atmosphere. Thankfully, Plague Weaver do neither of those things, and in fact are a fantastic example of how you do this shit right. Ascendant Blasphemy is an exercise in churning Doom riffs mixed with blasting tremolo picking to establish a thick, sulphurous atmosphere of desolation and dread that's not too far removed from a mix of Runemagick and Culted if you added in the occasional blast beat. The songs themselves are dense and often claustrophobic, blending instruments together under a murky production job to create a harsh wall of sound that at first may sound featureless, but on closer listens reveals a good deal of key progression that helps the songs keep their momentum as they build onto themselves until they simply cease to be. There are places where they speed up and go into something closer to Black/Death, but rather than ruin the mood of the album it just adds to its chaotic nature. Vocalist JC is also a real find, not only because his growls and snarls are venomous and spiteful, but also because he multitracks himself and writes the vocal lines for each track slightly out of sync with each other, which makes him sound like a chorus of hatred and despair that really stands out as a highlight of the album. If you're looking for Black/Doom that's as good as it gets, then start the year off right with this dragging nightmare of a debut.