...the Piercing Winds of Mortal Dawn

Formed in 2022, Oregon-based BM band Collier d'Ombre so far has put out two EPs and two split releases even as one of its members, guitarist / bassist / vocalist Necklace of Shadow (well, that's how he prefers to be called), turns out to have a very respectable CV in black metal, having been bassist / vocalist for raw atmospheric BM band Ash Borer from 2012 to 2017. Compared to Ash Borer though, Collier d'Ombre has a much harsher, grimmer and bleaker sound with doomy and death-like atmospheric elements and an acidic, bleached-out production that make the music even more deranged and despairing. The dual guitars especially sound like pipes spewing out highly corrosive acid showers that cause even hard granite to fry and dissolve noisily on contact, and the screaming vocals are not that much different from the guitars either in their nearly continuous screeching. In this sound environment, the only way for lead guitars to go is up, up, up to near-insane levels of shrillness, and (where they appear) synthesisers do the same, albeit in the far background.

At the time Collier d'Ombre released second EP "...The Piercing Winds of Mortal Dawn", the band was a duo of two guitarists Necklace of Shadow and Root of Ichor. You can certainly hear the guitars going at full gallop on this EP from start to finish and they completely dominate the music, though the percussion is working overtime in the background. After a short atmospheric blackened doom instrumental introduction that brings us into the band's distinctively bleak sound universe, the Collier d'Ombre men unleash their particular intense guitar noise hell upon our heads. From here on, we have our work cut out trying to keep up with these guys: the music brings an atmosphere of despair, hopelessness and sorrow, and the droning sounds of the guitars and keyboards exercise a very depressing influence on the spirits of all who try to hear out this EP. Of the three major tracks (tracks 2, 4 and 6) that feature this continuous hellish riffing style, track 4 "Every Soul Aghast: Blue Stream of Anguished Howl" is the most piercingly intense, the bleakest and most demented as the screaming pours out its pain and anguish amid the showers of droning guitar noise. The other two tracks though are not far behind in their levels of madness and savagery, with track 2 (the title track) being more melodic in parts and track 6 approaching epic doom metal soundtrack territory in its pile-on of monstrous vocals, massive chunky guitar riffing, lead guitar going sky-high, and booming bass juggernaut.

The three other short tracks that alternate with the long ones are moody acoustic dark folk instrumentals that not only contrast with the long tracks in style, pace and mood, but appear also to comment on the action that has just passed. If anything, these acoustic pieces with their mournful melodies and near-weepy tones are even more despondent in their repetition than the long BM songs.

The mix of short acoustic instrumental pieces and long epic songs of raw atmospheric BM / death / doom noise may be jarring to some listeners, though others can appreciate how mixing the dark acoustic folk and the noisier metal drone storms highlights both styles through contrast and draws attention to the spiritual alienation in the spaces behind the music. This EP though does repay repeated listens: you may think at first the music doesn't vary much in the long tracks but over time the details in the songs reveal themselves and then you'll wonder how you ever got the long tracks mixed up in the first place. These particular songs are commendable in the restrained minimalist way they maintain a grim atmosphere yet go through subtle changes of mood as riffs change.

The major beef listeners might have with the EP is that it is so short, and there are only three songs that feature Collier d'Ombre's style of vibrato guitar riff drone noise. Let's hope that a full-length album that reveals what this project is really capable of is not too far away.