Carnwennan – Lotus
Release Date: 31st May 2024
Label: Darkest Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Doom, Sludge.
FFO: Primitive Man, Bell Witch, Khanate, Earth.
Review By: Jeff Finch
There are a bevy of musical genres that exist today that encapsulate the listening habits of the world over, many of those genres existing within the repertoire of the same individual; this is what makes music such a powerful object, able to unite complete strangers based solely on the notes that are playing from a speaker. Perhaps one of the most powerful of those genres is that of Doom metal, the genre that today’s band Carnwennan is a subset of; purveyors of seething, acerbic, caustic songs that do everything in their power to mercilessly and purposefully beat into submission any of its listeners. This may not sound pleasing to anyone based on those adjectives, but what this band, and those with similar properties such as Denver stalwarts Primitive Man, brings to the table is a wave of crushingly powerful riffs and soundscapes that will make any listener feel like they’re being raked over coals…and somehow enjoying it.
Having mentioned them before, and given their popularity and almost legendary status in the genre, the comparisons to Primitive Man are the highest order of compliments; Carnwennan starts with simple nature sounds to open the album, exceptionally unassuming and a complete antithesis to what the band does, the long, oozing feedback bellowing from the speakers a sign that things are about to go south very quickly. The meaty, elongated, crushing riffs blast from the speakers, drums pounding in a slow, purposeful manner, akin to the openings of a tribal ceremony, disembodied voices poking through the haze of feedback and thickness. The pace is glacial, melodies suffocating in their intensity, the vocalist screaming in agony. Guitars strummed, and the notes held, harrowing in their magnitude, their build-up, their disregard for basic catchiness, the drums pummeled at constant intervals, the lack of speed or technicality made up for with unabashed power, those few notes every few seconds hitting like a thunderclap, somehow expected yet unanticipated, the entirety of the track seemingly one long trek through the depths of hell, anguish spewing forth from the vocalist while the hellish soundscapes around him paint a picture of despair and desolation.
At moments on the album, the pace does pick up, the hellish build-up at the end of our second track II a moment of eluding danger, desperation and despondency only getting stronger and more pronounced, our vocalist screaming for his life as a dissonant solo breaks through the maelstrom. At points, both surprisingly menacing and still doom-centric in their approach, blast beats enter the fray, the power and precision generating enough energy to make it sound like the drum kit itself is ready to take flight with how mercilessly it’s getting beat.
While each track does take its time to get rolling, with the first three songs encompassing 28 minutes between them, our final track suffers greatly, as the entirety of the 16-minute track is basically an exercise in ‘getting rolling,’ one note played over and over, a truly doom-like way to end an album, but without the added benefit of the pained vocals or the change in melody to keep listeners engaged. Were this track to have been a brief interlude, perhaps two minutes or so to offer up a breath of support, then it would have been more impactful, but clocking in at 16(!) minutes, the song truly destroys the momentum generated with tracks I-III, offering up nothing in return, not even grating noise like Primitive Man, which at least makes the listener feel something other than bored.
However, I will not let one song, even though it makes up more than 1/3 the length of the album, keep me from recommending this to fans of doom. This thing crawls, scratches, pummels, absolutely smothers you for those first twenty-eight minutes, taking pages from those bands that produce similar soundscapes, such as Khanate, only to let you down for the final leg. Yet, that means three fourths of this album is still excellent, and recommend it I do, for those of you that love your Primitive Man or Khanate with a New York flair.
(3.5 / 5)
