I: Oblivion (Church Road Records) is, despite the inference in the title, actually the second part of the album series, as Vnder A Crvmbling Moon released 0.1 Prelude back in February. And, don’t be fooled (again), just because this British band spells their name with a bunch of V’s they are not black metal – the VACM sound falling in the cracks between sludge and doom.
I: Oblivion opens with a thirteen-minute sonic sprawl as the drone of a minimalist strum of guitar builds into a collision of mammoth riffs that trample over you. A harsh growl booms to the forefront. From the first note, the album displays an attention to detail with a mix that balances the layers of guitar. They prove capable of wielding an atmosphere without dulling the sting of their attack.
The second song finds a darker more depressive mood washing over their sound in a way that recalls funeral doom, though with marginally less longing. The vocals are growled in a lower, despair-drenched gurgle. Eight and a half minutes into this song, it breaks down into a minimal strum of clean guitar. Comparisons could be drawn to post-Rock in these moments, though perhaps without the cinematic scope of dramatic dynamics that is essential to that genre. A guitar solo erupts, though it’s a tasty layer of nuanced melody rather than metallic shredding.
VACM leans in closer to doom with ‘A Call From the Void’. The guitar solo hinted at is fully committed to in this song, and the band does not languish in grief as much here. Midway into the song they drop down to another minimalist strum, and while there is the danger of overusing this strategy, when the singing comes in, the inclusion of more melodic shades is appreciated, even if the song itself feels like a disconnected journey that proven that melodic guitar playing is their strength.
‘Destruction’ is a denser, singularly driven rumble of the guitar. The growled vocals are more resonant, not unlike death metal gutturals and the sung vocals bring more of a Jesu feel to the last song. The hypnotic guitars woven about are airy, with sung vocals holding a more droning chant under the tapestry of sound draped over them. The lines might be blurred when it comes to what they are doing here, however, this exploration sounds great and has some emotionally powerful moments.
It is clear Vnder A Crvmbling Moon are solid musicians with a taste for beautiful gloom which I can appreciate, though there are some points that could be more refined. For what this is, though, fans of more atmosphere sludge and doom will enjoy the sad river these songs are floating down.
VACM are not re-inventing either genre they dabble in, but upon familiar sounds from a different angle. To their credit, any band that is not simply paying homage to Neurosis or Sabbath is making more of an effort than half their peers and this album’s ponderous nature grows on you.
If you are up for this journey into melancholy it’s a scenic trip.
Buy the album here:
https://vnderacrvmblingmoon.bandcamp.com/album/i-oblivion
8 / 10
WIL CIFER