Dark Meditation – Where The Darkness Bleeds
Release Date: 21st March 2025
Label: Carry On The Gloom Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Goth Rock, Deathrock, Classic Heavy Metal.
FFO: In Solitude, Mercyful Fate, Lords of the New Church.
Review By: Paul Franklin
Look in the dictionary and the definition of meditation describes the practice of ‘think[ing] deeply about (something)’ as well as ‘the act of giving your attention to only one thing.’ In the case of Dark Meditation, this not an approach to recommend. Give your attention to the new EP from this Seattle-based quintet, and it’s quickly apparent that there is nothing here to think about (especially not deeply).
The band brand themselves as playing ‘dark rock inspired by the greats of classic heavy metal, early black metal and deathrock.’ They also describe Where the Darkness Bleeds as a ‘further refinement of their sound and a conceptual album on themes of love, betrayal revenge death and the toll they take.’ in actuality the main toll it takes is on your tolerance and patience, mercifully the EP has just six tracks and two of these are for all intents and purposes instrumentals.
The dark and harrowing gothic/doom vibe they are going for is missed by a margin larger than the number of holes of a pair of fishnets. The DIY aesthetic is part of the Deathrock genre, but there’s DIY and then there’s Blue Peter’s yoghurt pots and sticky back plastic!
The production sounds awful. The audio equivalent of trying to watch an extremely grainy low budget movie from the 60s whilst shrouded in a nicotine stained net curtain. In fact, the whole thing has an air of being the soundtrack to one of those cheap as shit, ‘independent’ films that you find at the end when you’ve scrolled through 23 pages of horror films on your streaming service.
It’s not clear whether it is a deliberate choice, but the vocal performance is akin to an intoxicated Danzig slumped and slurring mournfully in the corner of the party. Someone has thrown a coat over him and everyone is politely trying to ignore him.
The third track is called Call To The Beast, if that beast has any sense he’s blocking the call and changing his number.
(1 / 5)
