Stream from the Heavens

In a way it's sort of ideal that Thergothon only ever released one full length; while it is a shame that there was never a follow up the lack of anything else by these guys allows Stream from the Heavens to stand on its own- an utterly alien monument without peer, a twisted black tower of non-Euclidian geometry rising above some desolate, windswept Antarctic plateau.

Short of their demo nothing I've heard sound remotely like this, or anything close to it. The guitar tone, for one- all oddly flanged (someone once suggested that this whole recording was time stretched/pitch shifted when recording was completed, I'm inclined to agree), spindly, thin and completely different from the usual bass/mid heavy tone expected from doom. The ridiculously low vocals, the old sci-fi (syfy?) synth sounds. Nothing about this is typical.

And of course, the atmosphere- still as powerful, still as unique as ever; still unmatched and still the reason why Thergothon stand head and shoulders above their funereal counterparts (and their doom brethren in general). Metal's always had a few bands attempting to channel that which is spacey, dark and powerful, and Thergothon are without a doubt the purest example, the finest example. From the chants of Elemental to the synth lead in Everlasting, from the brief comedown in Unknown Kadath to the eerie clean vocals in Who Rides the Astral Wings, everything in this delivers maximum atmosphere, and that’s before we get to the bizarre, pitch black production- the flanged guitars, the deep bass that reverberates throughout much of the album. It’s hard to see anything but ancient, pre-human structures and undying, primordial creatures when the music starts. Heaven help those who've tried this album with drugs!

Going on about the atmosphere does a disservice to the best thing about this record. Stream from the Heavens doesn't rely on over enthusiastic use of a reverb plug-in or what have you- the songwriting is the cornerstone of this record. Granted there aren't a heap of tempo changes but it's far more complex then you'd originally think- plenty of riff changes, dynamic usage aplenty, heavy, crushing guitar lines mixed with strange, spider-like leads (no other way to describe it), sparse and clever use of synths and vocals for tonal variation. None of this is immediately obvious, either; the transitions between riffs, drumbeats etc. are so smooth, so seamless that upon the first few listens you may not even notice them. That's understandable, though; once this album sucks you in you're not going to be thinking about the minutiae too much, moreso succumbing to the immense power.

There's just not a note out of place throughout this whole thing. It just radiates with an unseen power and every element of the music- the strange, atypical production, the intricate and complex songwriting, the crushing riffs, the atmosphere- everything is done perfectly. A true 100%-er if I've ever seen one.