The Patron Saint of Filth & Mold

Drowning the Light's contribution to black metal mini opera is this 13-minute quartet of raw furious songs. The title track leads the way with a swanky groove riff that repeats throughout as a musical chorus and a nagging ragged vocal. This is the most distinctive song on the EP and if these DtL guys weren't so underground and uncompromising in their style and approach, the track would qualify as a potential single. A demented circus organ melody at mid-point paired with an equally drunken guitar accompaniment puts icing on the cake for the track. The second major song on the EP, "Mourning for the Sanguine Goddess", is a more terrifying piece with vibrating guitar chords on a knife edge and vocals extending all the way from evil chant to deep-voiced incantations to haunted screams; this may not be quite as whistle-friendly but it's sure to linger in the mind longer with its menacing atmosphere and demonic conversations. In spite of the near-minimal nature of the riffing, there are some strong moments of sheer cut-throat slashing rifferama and the song reaches heights of operatic drama in its second half.

The other two pieces on the EP are very, very short: "Ashen Skies" pounds out its message with frantic aggression as if trying to cram three times as much music and fury into its short two minutes and a bit as it's allowed. As with the other tracks on this EP, it just collapses when its allocated time is spent. "Her Patronage but Dust" is a po-faced elegy composed entirely on organ: I sense there's not much real grief expressed for a mother goddess figure that probably eats her own children as well as nourishing them on bitter acid milk.

All songs start well enough with a strong, surging sound and are usually robust but they fall apart at the end. Many listeners will find this EP frustratingly short and much of its potential lying dormant. I for one would really like to see this EP expanded further and see if the band can extend the concept, themes and musical ideas into a mighty monster masterwork and sustain all this for a full hour - there is such a lot of energy in the EP, I think the risk would be worth taking.