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Released on February 17, 2015 via Profound Lore Records
One of 2015’s most notable collaborations is upon us as Aaron Turner (ISIS) and Nick Yacyshyn (Baptists) stride forth with the untameable beast that is SUMAC. While enlisting the help of bassist Brain Cook (Russian Circles) during the recording process, the duo have produced one of the most hard hitting, spine-chilling debut albums you’ll hear for a long time yet. This record combines elements from various realms of the heavy music spectrum and rings several familiar tones throughout, primarily harking back to the Hydra Head Records sound, yet at the same time is truly its own wild self.
Initially The Deal rolls out with ‘Spectral Gold’, which leads you onward with the perfect sense of sinister apprehension that carries throughout the entire record. Early and instrumental segments sound almost like a purposefully composed soundtrack to a particularly harrowing thriller. There’s a very different impression to these parts in opposition to the majority of the album which fits fairly comfortably into the post-metal genre. ‘Thorn In the Lion’s Paw’ escalates into the most memorable song of the album and are a perfect example of how Turner’s barking vocals bore into your soul’s deepest fears. The mounting tension behind the short but sweeping riff leading out of the song and into the sparse and elevating tail three minutes raise the hairs on the back of my neck like little else, and continue to do so with each listen.
’Hollow King’ is one of the album’s veritable epics that cloaks you in a dark wave of sonic tension, fluctuating erratically between lush forests of tones and atmospherics and melodic riffs reminisce of Misery Signals’ early efforts before coalescing into a surreal and cacophonous wall of guitar tone and cogent drumming. ‘Blight’s End Angel’ draws you out of the forest that the previous three tracks built up around you and into an ominous clearing with an infinite horizon before shoving you from behind over a hidden precipice and plunging you deep into an echoing ocean of reverb.
Here is where my steady sense of traversing the fabricated landscape abruptly ends. Title track ‘The Deal’ feels like it opens a whole new chapter to the story, whilst simultaneously maintaining the strong musical identity that has been established so far. And from the outset ‘The Radiance Of Being’ inaugurates itself as the definitive culmination to the album. It creates a sense of melancholy closure until blending seamlessly back into the opening trickle of sound that starts ‘Spectral Gold’ and the journey all over again. It’s a musical ground hog day of unpleasant events.
Despite the constant descension further into the abyss and while one song may audibly present itself numerous subdivisions, there is a very strong cohesion between tracks. To me, The Deal has everything I could want from a metal album right now. Brute force, barren landscapes, Torche-esque catchiness in parts and the expectant feeling that the everlasting darkness of the apocalypse is about to fall across the Earth any second now. Personally this is where I was expecting the latest Old Man Gloom to be in terms of progression in sound and style, but I’m glad that this has formed its own separate being.
It’s a long one, I’ll give it that, but don’t attempt to give this a ‘skim listen’ by skipping through the tracks because you are bound to miss something vital to the development of this record. Take your time to hear it, to really give it your full attention. You will not regret it.
