Review Summary: Heavier than the Seven Seas.
Nova Scotia. Where is that again? Well it’s a rather large peninsula on the chilly northeastern coast of Canada where two fine individuals have created one hell of a massive doom record. It’s incredibly simple in songwriting and execution, even for doom, but it is this straightforward and unmitigated desire for deep dark sounds that lends such a powerful presence. Speaking of presence, it’s completely instrumental. This works out well, forcing you to concentrate on the vibe and giving your mind a chance to wander and dream up visions of wrecked ships, towering waves, and monsters in the depths.
Speaking of monsters, I don’t think they could have downtuned their guitars any further; they would implode. If your speakers or headphones have even half decent bass reproduction, your ears are going to make you feel like you’re a hundred feet underwater in some sections. It’s not just heavy for the sake of it though. There’s a conscious effort to concoct a corrosive atmosphere that hits hard, pauses for only a moment, then hits harder, dragging you along for a brutal Nantauket sleigh ride.
The title of the album is perfect. There are black-metal like tremolo picked riffs spread throughout. They’re quite prevalent but not overdone, adding a sinister and foreboding layer that combined with the low-pitched chug and roar of the backing riffs produces a pretty unique overall sound. It’s a compelling addition. On paper it sounds like it might get old fast, or not work at all, but Sea Witch make it convincing. An accordion features a few times. Incredibly appropriate, you could easily mistake it for a simple keyboard but it sounds more hollow and resonant. It ties in very well with the black metal tinges, and the production on the drums in particular.
No Honour is the highlight here. Fourteen minutes of devastating riffage, cymbols smashed so hard you can visualize them tottering back and forth, and a few melodic passages (created by those tremolos) that lift the song just high enough for crushing riffs to tear it back down again. It changes up only slightly, and passes quickly. It’s the perfected incarnation of the path most of the other songs take, though that’s not to say there isn’t enough variation of tone and feel in those songs to keep you interested. But if you want a track to get you into this band, No Honour is it.
Not without faults of course, Call of the Leviathan feels a bit like filler. It’s faster paced (and somehow louder) than the rest of the album, which makes it stand out in a distracting manner. The opening track as well seems to meander somewhat. It’s nearly as long as No Honour but not nearly as powerful. Starting with said track however, the album finds and keeps its stride all the way through the final two (much shorter) tracks, ending on a high (low?) note. Also, there seems to be a more concrete theme here. If you look at the track names and the order you’ll see what I mean but it doesn't come through in the music as well as the band must have intended.
There’s definitely room for improvement all around, and I can see the eventual inclusion of some nice deep gutturals adding even more of a gut kicking umph, but part of the fun of The Blackened Sea is that it’s a debut; there is hopefully much more to come. Wandering just slightly off the beaten path, Sea Witch have managed to stick more closely to doom metal tradition than you may expect, yet add enough personality through subtlety and simple but clever instrumentation that they successfully create a sound wholly their own. Move over whalecore. This is how you ocean metal.
