To give birth to something that takes the listener from happiness, to sadness, whilst being drenched in anger is not an easy thing to complete, and for it all to come from one person makes this even more impressive.
Post-metal (Black metal? Doom? Sludge?) newcomers Vnder a Crvmbling Moon have only been going for about a year or so but already they come prepared to release their first full-length record. If you check out their Bandcamp there is a lot of extra material on there; all this was written by Scott Taylor as a lockdown project designed to get his ideas out there. The songs have become the building blocks for the sound and path the band have chosen to take with their debut album. I: Oblivion is the culmination of Taylor’s writing ambitions (for this project anyway, he’s also a member of Garganjua). He wrote the record as a one man band, composing every instrument, the lyrics and vocals and also taking care of the mixing duties, before recruiting friends so he could realise his vision in the live setting. As he puts it, ‘I have a fire to carry on creating,’ so this seems to be the natural conclusion of that.
‘When the Nightmare Came’ opens with a mournful dirge. Juxtaposed with heavy doom laden riffs that the likes of Electric Wizard would have been happy to have written. Over it all Taylor’s cries of Oblivion reach down your throat into your soul, and place it in a tightening vice like grip of atmospheric black metal screams. Towards the end of the song we’re treated to another layer as the outro riff is accompanied by a warbling phase ridden lead section, that is still somehow crushing whilst psychedelic in its execution.
“Taylor's cries of Oblivion reach down your throat into your soul, and place it in a tightening vice like grip of atmospheric black metal screams.”
‘Destruction’s’ funeral esque opening belies a hard nougaty core of sludge metal. The driving verse riffs, drenched in reverb laden vocals create an atmosphere of oppression, of the mind shattering unknown. This track would be as easily in place in the underwater temple of the Old Ones (which fits lyrics like, ‘beneath the surface of forgotten life’ and ‘a prophecy of evil, fire water rising up’) as it would a later Mastodon album. A fact only compounded by Taylor’s soaring clean vocals that cover the second half the song.
The final track, ‘Salvation’ begins life powerful and uplifting, that reminds us of the (slightly) happier side of shoegaze. Big spacey chords accompany the vocal track creating a sense of warming and content. We then descend into the depths of hell, complete with Neurosis style vocals growled over a riff that sounds like the gallop of Cerberus chasing you from the gates. The doom and sludge influence reigns supreme here as we are hammered by the cyclical revolving melodies, both melancholy and powerful simultaneously.
Vnder a Crvmbling Moon have created a beastly block of sludge encrusted post-metal here. They seamlessly blend ideas a motifs from a variety of sources and genres to create an album that traverses the full spectrum of emotions and themes, whilst also wrapping you in an insufferable oppressive atmosphere. To give birth to something that takes the listener from happiness, to sadness, whilst being drenched in anger is not an easy thing to complete, and for it all to come from one person makes this even more impressive, it’s easy to see why this band could go far if they continue on their doomed path.