Album Review: DÖ – Astral Death Cult (Lay Bare Recordings/Mercyful Tapes)

Astral Death Cult is the second full-length album from DÖ, a riff-praising, cosmos-worshipping trio from Helsinki, Finland. This vicious death cult lead by Big Dog (guitar), Joe E. Deliverance (drums) and Deaf Hank (vox & bass) feeds on dark astral energy and compresses it into what they call “döömer” – a unique northern mix of stoner, doom, sludge, and psychedelic elements with hints of death / black metal.

The lyrical themes the album have evolved from mysticism, misanthropy, and anti-religiousness towards saluting the great forces of nature and the void that surrounds us. Astral Death Cult releases on the 20th September 2019 on vinyl via Lay Bare Recordings and cassette via Mercyful Tapes as well as all digital platforms.

Hail Cosmos! We’re all döömed!

One of the more uniquely different albums you’re likely to hear this year. DÖ’s 6 track effort is a maddening mix of heavy and mind-fuckery. The latter being dished out with teeth-aching fuzziness and the former coming from the gore that clogs up almost every faucet of their sound.

The psychedelic elements are subtle but they add so much to a sound that is so doomy at times and so sludgy at others it seems as though its come crawling out of the deepest and darkest swamps.

The expectation that each track would be huge, wandering numbers is unfounded too as other then the aptly titled Drifting (in a Methane Ocean), no other track passes the 6 minute mark. What DÖ have done is create compacted epics, enclosed and short (ish) but with all the trimmings. It’s truly spectacular and a must listen.

DÖ – Astral Death Cult Full Track Listing:

1. Intergalacticlude
2. Atmosfear
3. Drifting (in a Methane Ocean)
4. Cosmic Communion
5. Planet Eater
6. Beyond the Cosmic Horizon

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