Album Review: Chrome Ghost – The Diving Bell (Seeing Red Records)

Chrome Ghost is a melodic post-metal/doom band from Sacramento, CA. With a unique blend of lush vocal harmonies and a massive range of dynamics, they occupy a hazy area between genre-bending bands like the Melvins, Baroness, Neurosis, and Boris while maintaining an enchanting sound all their own.

With a sound that can transition from doom to shoegaze, ethereal folk, or crushing sludge, The Diving Bell will make an impression. The new album from Chrome Ghost will be released on March 27th 2020 via Seeing Red Records.

With such a wide array of ideas, it’s a genuine surprise that Chrome Ghost are able to distil their vision into something so incredible. The Diving Bell is an incredible album, 4 tracks of introspective, puzzling, confusing yet deeply moving and enlightening music. As capable of drawing a flood of tears as it is to cause spontaneous bouts of head-banging.

Thought-provoking wonder, Waltz in the Shadow of the Hillside captures the imagination with its sprawling effort. Mellow post-rhythms blended with increasingly intense blasts of doomier heaviness.

The enormity of that track alone requires multiple listens just to let it sink in. However, Chrome Ghost give little time to breathe as Halo arrives with an eruption of ringing post metal. A challenging track, it’s very difficult to keep the mind focused as it dips in and out of the ether that surrounds this track.

It’s all been play time though as the title track arrives, and what an arrival it is. We’re talking massive doomy riffs, gut-wrenching percussion drops, impossibly dark melodies and an underlying feeling of dejection. This is the ultimate track that encapsulates what Chrome Ghost are capable of and even though it is nearly 15 minutes long, it flies by in half that time. Even a long post melody section just makes it all the murkier.

After such an epic effort, Visions does scale things back a bit but not a whole-load. That’s not the Chrome Ghost way and we should be very grateful for that.

A momentous effort of an album.

Chrome Ghost – The Diving Bell Full Track Listing:

1. Waltz in the Shadow of the Hillside
2. Halo
3. The Diving Bell
4. Visions

Links

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