Originally released in 2015 and 2016 respectively Archelons’ first and second EP have come together to create a greater whole. Fitting seamlessly as one album, artlessly titled I // II, begging the question is that what was originally intended? Regardless this release is a solid thirty-six minutes of aural discord with sludge-like tendencies.
Don’t expect to be whisked off your feet with any mad guitar skillz or fancy pants technicalities. However that’s not to say that this album cum compilation is without details or attention catching riffs. Both Ep’s are to be savored as they patiently build in intensity over the course of the album, and as the riffs get closer more things become apparent within the mix.
In supplying a sense of dread and doom by moving the ominous foundations of blues and jazz rhythms. With descending chord progressions and every now and then a rhythm led reprieve from the deep and heavy distortion. These Ep’s make for a ritual mosh pit. Extending riffs until they become like a pendulum and turning necks into metronomes.
While the songs are definitely not easy listening when they capture your attention it becomes a hypnotic listening experience. Triggering a powerful sense of strength by proxy of the potent arrangements. For what at first appears as a simple doom/death arrangement the sheer depth of the compositions continues to hold nuances long past their sell by date.
8/10
