Seminar III: Zozobra

Old Man Gloom boast members of Isis, Converge and Cave In, making them a sort of supergroup of the sludge/post-rock world. They seem to have been started to allow the artists somewhat more creative freedom and especially to experiment with their sound in a variety of ways. "Seminar II: The Holy Rites of Primitivism Regressionism" and "Seminar III: Zozobra", the second and third outing of the band respectively, were released at the same time, and are two parts of the same glorious whole.

To contrast with its 17 track predecessor, Seminar III is a single 27 minute track entitled "Zozobra". This can only be described as a post-rock/stoner masterpiece.

The track builds from slow silence, through static, to one of the slowest and darkest introductory clean riffs i've ever heard. Over this fades a soundbite of scientists speaking of black-holes that could devour the entire universe, sounding nothing short of deadly ominous, before the distortion is switched on and the vocals scream into action, plodding through what sounds like the darkest thoughts of a murderers psyche.

Throughout this middle portion of the song there are constant slow downs and buildups, punctuated by guitar solos low in the mix and whispering, undecipherable voices that feel altogether unsettling and brilliantly atmospheric.

Once this middle section has reached it's climax it fades to the last 8 minutes 50 seconds, and what is one of the greatest finales of any track i have ever heard. The original riff kicks in slowly and ominously, but by now seeming almost beautiful in it's depresion. Over this fades again another fantastic and deeply chilling soundbite that builds the listener into the final heavy riff, over which erupts the final guitar solo. This solo is up with the likes of Funkadelic's "Maggot Brain" in it's sheer soulful, spine-tingling emotion, but oh so much darker. This eventually fades to ambient static and the ride is over.

Together this package represents one of the greatest experimental, post-rock/stoner records out there. The last 8:50 of Zozobra cannot afford to be missed.