(((O))) : Torpor / Sonance – Split

Released on February 12, 2016 via Thruthseeker Music

Sludge, doom, whatever you want to call it, is undergoing a real renaissance at the moment. More so than ever there are great bands churning out big noises from this particular corner of the underground; it seems to this casual observer that this branch of metal is at that sweet-spot in its evolution before it explodes more widely, the quality seems reasonably high and innovation with the template is rife. Partly this is due to the nature of the music; it is moored in a base level of extremity that limits the audience, therefore limits the investment, meaning the average audience only really sees the great stuff, I suppose. Bear with me; this half-arsed musing on the economics of niche underground genres and their impact on the quality of product is taking me somewhere with the review, honest. What I mean to say is that this split effort between London based noise-mongers Torpor and Brighton based craftsmen Sonance is really, really fucking good, and as such it completely supports my hypothesis.

Both bands have pretty excellent CV’s – Torpor released the epic From Nothing Comes Everything last year, which made it into my Top 20 of the year, and Sonance have put out a series of high quality recordings, including 2015’s excellent Blackflower, and played some awesome live shows – their set at 2015’s Temples Fest cemented their position as a band capable of crafting a beautiful noise. This split comprises three tracks from each band and allows both artists to distil the essence of their style without compromising the ethic.

Torpor take side A, and for my money it’s the strongest of the two, albeit only narrowly. The tracks on this side move from crushing to ethereal and back again across the course of 21 minutes, making for a compelling and exhausting journey. ‘Jasager’ opens up with a glorious sludge-y doom tone, all gritty growling guitars and massive tone driving a big lumbering riff that feels unstoppable. The first time that riff kicks in at about 40 seconds is the first time your jaw will hit the floor; there will be more times. It’s the sound of oppression and claustrophobia, distilled into one fuzzed up grind. The main song transitions away seamlessly into an elongated, almost ambient mid-section, almost devoid of percussion, with twisted, heavily distorted screamed vocals and occasional ghostly background vocals that creates an unsettling atmosphere, before smashing back into huge thundering riffs for a massive lumbering climax. ‘Environs’ doesn’t try to top the power of this; cleverly the song acts as a palette cleansing interlude, with an almost Godflesh style feel to the stripped back instrumental minimalism. Again, the feeling of claustrophobia is very much present, this time using the minimalism, repetition and infrequent quiet clean vocals to cause this effect, rather than volume. The calm is shattered by ‘Agalma’, opening with feedback and a disgustingly heavy opening riff. This time there is no let-up, no ambient mid-section, just seven and a half minutes of huge riffs and feedback. It’s fantastic; the sludge equivalent of a mic drop for Sonance to respond to.

Sonance wisely take a more initially subdued route to our hearts after the bluster of side A. ‘End Your Life’ builds from a quiet, almost acoustic, droned refrain with some screechy feedback before introducing a massive riff, progressive and aggressive with some bellowed vocals that sound truly primal. It’s a direct and pointed second half of the song that feels like it breaks down haphazardly into a type of controlled chaos. As a piece of music it feels more direct and brutal than anything that Sonance have delivered in the past and is a very welcome slice of bludgeon. ‘Under and Under’ is ushered in by a repeated chord before we get a big stomping Neurosis style riff, fresh from the ‘Times of Grace’ era. The whole song has a scale and a scope to it, with an almost lazy momentum – lazy in the way that lava moves; deceptively slow, but destroying all in its path. A psyche-ish middle eight breaks to a massive Isis inspired riff with some tortured vocals, and an epic slow-down to finish. ‘Capes’ rounds out Sonance’s contribution with a gentle build that feels like something Pelican would put out, or an off-cut from Rosetta’s last album. It’s a lovely progressive build that gets heavier and heavier imperceptibly before petering out into silence. My only quibble here is that this may have worked better as the middle of the three tracks; its lengthy build is beautiful, but misses a big pay-off for me, and moving from ‘Capes’ to ‘Under and Under’ could have provided that. That said, as it is ‘Capes’ provides a lovely calm after the storm of the first two tracks, and that is to be welcomed.

Overall this is a fantastic release from two excellent bands that, if not at the top of their game, then are at least hitting their stride. Six tracks of doomy, post-y excellence. I love it, you probably will too.