Blood ov...

This is an odd work. Blood Ov may just be pioneers of something, as this is the first time I've ever heard something I can only describe as funeral black/doom. It's definitely drone-ish and funerary, it's definitely very black, and it's definitely doomy. It's a very unique mix, but the best thing I can liken it to is Mournful Congregation meets middle-era Gorgoroth meets Sunn O))). Make sense? No, it doesn't to me either.

It's unclear what the band took as inspiration when making this record, but what I perhaps admire the most about this record though is that none of the members, seemed to give a fuck about musical conventions, and creating an incredibly brave release as only their first official output (and likely only). It's not as if funeral blackened drone doom is a commonly explored blueprint in the first place either, and if this turns out to kickstart a huge wave then I'll have to eat my words.

Sadly, given the quality of this release, the future was grim for this band. Firstly, members were not happy with the audio quality of the EP, so it remained unreleased until well after the line up had folded. Secondly, although a few labels were interested, none actually came along with an offer to release it. The final nail in the coffin for the band came in December of 2009, when lead singer Eryn lost her father, fell into depression and consequently moved away, ending the band after a short 3 year existence. This gold nugget finally came to be released on Bandcamp thanks to guitarist Gil Russell mastering and pressing the tape. There is talk among members, however, that the band will one day reunite.

Instrumentally and vocally this album is decent, with the singer, Eryn, vomiting her cords in true black metal Attila Csihar-style. The guitarist, Gil Russell is also pretty decent, having a nice drone-y riff-based style, and those two (guitarist and vocalist) provide us with most of the strong moments on here. The drummer, Tony Diaz, adds a nice layer of atmosphere to the proceedings, but can find himself completely abandoned, not knowing whether to broke in the or play in a slow, Jan Lindh style, which are pretty much the only two options you have if you're a black metal drummer of any kind, or at least if you want to be tr00 kvlt.

Since this EP features just two tracks, spanning half an hour mind you, I won't even try and avoid discussing all songs on here. So, starting with the good and moving on to the bad, opener "Suffer in Silence" is a great, well developed black metal song, with an awesomely depressing atmos, making your mind want to gradually implode as the song progresses on it's 16-and-a-half-minute course. Another major positive on this album is the guitar and vocal work. Vocals sound like a seasoned black metal veteran, like Abbath from Emperor and the guitar playing is excellently drone-y, doomy and dissonant. Unfortunately, "A Song to Thee", the second and final track, is disappointing, not being all that much different from the first, but with less of the punch and effect. Also, the two songs could've been subjected to an edit, major points being the coda of the first track, and the many breaks in the second. However, like a true funeral band, it's all about atmosphere, which may have been lost with an edit.

In conclusion, this EP has all the traits that are found in the releases early in the careers of great bands, however the line up folding after this release meant the band could never reach those heights. This band had HUGE potential, but the loss of key members, the lack of a record deal and dissatisfaction (why?) with this meant they could never fulfill it. Sad, really,