Aseethe - Reverent Burden
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It’s only their first album, but Iowan drone/doom act Aseethe already have scene legend James Plotkin manning the mastering process. Cripes, the underground moves fast. The trio definitely have their pedigree down, though. On Reverent Burden, teetering riff monoliths stretch towards the sky, while somehow staying firmly terrestrial; drums are slowed to the bare essentials of alternating bass and cymbal splashes, with the occasional tom fill; some dude bays at the moon, with the only intelligible lyric being a repeated howl of the album’s title on “Burden”.
While these guys no doubt crush live, Plotkin’s mix takes some adjusting to, and thus siphons off some of the recording’s power. Brian Barr’s guitar is most imposing when it allows tiny rays of light to filter in while clawing its way deeper underground, as heard on the first third of “Reverent”. His economic use of highs recalls Loss’s Despond; when he counters with a subterranean bass note, the whole recording shudders.
Reverent Burden‘s most unnerving aspect is its use of electronic noise – not in walloping heaps, but as a constant ambient foundation; an atonal whaling of digital tornadoes. The “drone” part of their description is apt in a less oppressive way than, say, Khanate, or especially Khlyst. While those two bands could easily drive you to put a gun to your head, Aseethe simply compel you to nod it. And at a mere 27 minutes, Reverent Burden is definitely the way to go if you’re into the whole brevity thing. In an era where labels are pressing Pro-Tools tech death on wax to cash in on the vinyl craze, the LP edition of this tasty sludge morsel is a welcome platter; it was recorded by three humans in a room, and actually sounds like it.
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HEAR ASEETHE
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Aseethe – “Burden”
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BUY REVERENT BURDEN
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