The Marrow Veil

Howls of Ebb is definitely one of the most intriguing and interesting black/death acts of recent years. Their 2014 debut, Vigils of the Third Eye, proved that conjuring darkness through dissonance and atmosphere is way more effective than to pummel the listener with faster-than-light blastbeats and hyper muscular riffing (looking at you, Behemoth), with a dark, unorthodox formula quite similar to Belgium's Emptiness latest two albums. With The Marrow Veil, a 34 minute EP, they continue their steady procession towards the nothingness, albeit with longer song structures; an intriguing but risky choice. Wiley Trieff's fantastic artwork is definitely a huge improvement over their debut's cover, faithfully capturing the band's sinewy and contorted unholy sounds with ease. But, does the music contents of this EP hold up to malignant expectations? I would say… yes.

An ominous movie sample (I'm unfortunately not familiar with it) starts the nineteen-minute behemoth “Standing on Bedlam, Burning in Bliss” that opens this release and consists in more that 50% of its total length, taking the entire Side A. The narration is followed by the metallic components of the track fading in at mid-pace for almost a minute 'til a writhing guitar solo starts around the 2 minute mark. It then subsides into another dark, calm moment, after another 3 minutes picks up intensity again. It is indeed a long, serpentine and ritualistic track, mostly residing in mid-pace, despite the constant barrages of decently fast double bass pummeling. The sporadic atonal melodies eerily give the song its orchestral march pace, and the grim vocals of zELeVthaND, decidedly a middle ground between black metal rasps and death growls, greatly contribute to its compelling dark mystique. The bass guitar gets its own opportunity to… I wouldn't dare to say “shine”… more like “pollute”, the atmosphere with a carnal, forceful tone, in the final stages of the track, following its own lines instead of the guitars. A bit overlong composition, in my opinion, it reminds me of Teitanblood's Death album, in which a nihilistic, oppressive atmosphere is conjured, but its tunes somehow lack punch and direction.

I found Side B to be even better, mainly due to the other long track, “Iron Laurels, Woven in Rust”, since “Dusks Tyrannical Lore” feels more like an intro to the final song of the EP. The twelve-minute closer is the stronger composition of the three, progressively arising from its real intro, a calm section with sporadic percussion and more atonal sounds, to a meatier black/death number, around the 2:30 minute mark. The style of the preceding songs doesn't change here, but the overall use of the signature elements in Howls of Ebb music is given better use. I actually feel like headbanging to this track, throughout much of its duration. The riffs feel stronger and angrier, while the eerie, nefarious ambiance and zELeVthaND's evil utterings remains the same. Around the 8:25 mark another twisted solo appears, recalling old Venom early extreme metal works. The drums are also wilder here, some serious toms attack can be witnessed a bit further into the track, followed by another intense guitar solo. But as in the other long song here, it is the mid-paced march the element that anchors this blasphemous concoction and gives it cohesion, intermixed with breaks of blackened ambient sounds.

The whole EP indeed feels like a procession towards the eternal blackness, though the climaxes in the compositions are sparse and therefore something is missing... destination not entirely reached. I must say that even when I feel Howls of Ebb’s traits have been honed here aesthetically, I prefer their debut in terms of memorability and impact. Their sophomore has already reared its ugly head, and it's only a matter of a mere weeks before we who worship the black bask in its new grimness. Hopefully it will combine the best elements of their two releases so far. Anyway, this is recommended for those extreme metal enthusiasts who favor atmosphere over percussive punishment.