PSALMSLAYERS - Spacetanic E​.​P

PSALMSLAYERS

Spacetanic E​.​P​
self-released; 2018

​3.5 out of 5

By Dan Weston

L.Thomas, R.Akins and D.King are PSALMSLAYERS. The band recently released Spacetanic E​.P which is a five-song EP. They play predominately drone metal in the spirit of a band like Sunn O))).

​The EP starts with “Traveling Light” which utilizes some sort of sample that sounds a bit like Darth Vader. The music is more or less some drones and fluctuations while the sample plays for almost three minutes. It felt a little long before the band starts to introduce sheets of white noise, drums and the somewhat predictable growls that myriad bands in this genre utilize. The songs played on slight variations as it moves forward.

“Dawn” is the centerpiece and highlight. It’s an almost ten-minute song that starts off utilizing bass, drums and pads. The initial absence of the guitar is short lived as you are greeted with feedback and white noise around the one-minute mark. They introduce the first influx of energy around the two- minute mark. The tempo eventually slows down and they re-introduce another spoken word sample. Around the seven-minute mark they reach the peak of the song merging in aspects of post-rock and drone metal. Well done.

“Dawn Pt. 2” continues to establish their sound with the drummer introducing a couple of new variations in his style. “Gravitate And Combine” had a different sonic imprint than the previous songs. It was more lo-fi and had a hard time making much of anything besides a drone and snare although you could argue that was the point. They close with “Dead on Arrival” which you might be able to argue had the most hook worthy vocal melodies.

Make no mistake albums by bands like Neurosis, Sunn 0))) and many other like minded bands are exceptionally produced and engineered albums. Suffice it to say that was one aspect I would have liked to have heard some improvement on Spacetanic. That being said there were some brief moments I thought the lo-fi quality worked to their advantage.

Overall, this EP is what I would consider a no frills drone metal release. The band keeps it relatively sparse and I would argue their are some inspired moments because of it. This was a solid release and  got me interested to hear what’s next for the band. Recommended.

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