Bones

L.o.W. is a quartet from Szczecin (Poland) formed in 2014, whose self-released EP "Bones" was their first serious outing to the people. The material for this release was recorded in Vintage Records and the physical version of the EP is adorned with rather dark artwork by Krzysztof Bień. Inside the jewel-case, we find a disc as black as night, as well as cool, slightly chaotic lyrics to three tracks. The atmosphere is there, but did they manage to preserve it on the recordings themselves?

The described mini-album consists of three compositions, whose duration exceeds 27 minutes. Or actually four compositions, as the unhurried, rather dark "Intro" is not included in the tracklist, despite being on a separate track. However, it flows smoothly into the harsh, slow-moving and low growl-laden "Tear Me Open", reminiscent of Paradise Lost's earliest work - so you can treat the first two tracks as one longer one. And you can hear the pain and suffering in it, which even a nice melodic solo cannot relieve. It is no different in "Almost Like Gods": there the death/doom metal steamroller continues to go straight at us. The vocalist screams, the guitars squish, the bass takes over nicely at around the four-minute mark - but nothing can save us. The work of slow destruction is completed by the almost ten-minute title track. A cool, hypnotic riff, a pinch of melancholy in the middle - listening to this music can make you depressed.

The "Bones" EP is a difficult, dragging, very pessimistic album. It is imperfect in terms of sound (it is harsh and suffocating in places), but still has a certain character. Certainly, not everyone will like this kind of music, which is why I would recommend L.o.W to all fans of early releases in the vein of nascent death/doom metal. I found myself mentally exhausted by listening to this release several times in a row, so remember to dose yourself with these sounds in moderation.

Originally written for www.metalside.pl