Album Review: Merchant – Beneath (Black Bow Records)

Hailing from Melbourne, sludge doom band Merchant return with their second album, Beneath. It is out on May 12th 2017 via Black Bow Records.

A blend of dirty sludge riffs & darkened beats all wrapped up in a funeral doom package. The two tracks that make up Beneath are every bit the expansive sound you could hope them to be.

Soaked in atmosphere, Guile as a Vice’s moody beat, slow pace & rumbling feedback is very unsettling. Just as it’s starting to weigh you down, it lightens the load with some fresh guitar melody. It’s a multi-layered song which only grows when the twisted vocals arrive to darken the skies. It’s the kind of song that puts you in a pensive mood, a song that lacks any kind of joy but begs to be heard fully.

The second & final track, Succumbing offers something a bit different at first, a faster beat with vocals that sound even more horrifying then they did on Guile as a Vice. The doom really hits hard here, it’s thumpingly dark, dangerously evil sounding but addictive listening. Music straight from the grave.

If you’re looking for upbeat melodies & feel good metal, look elsewhere. Merchant have dropped a banger of a funeral doom record. It’s breathtaking in its simplicity at times & delivers an overall experience that will invokes all the darkest thoughts you could ever have.

Merchant – Beneath Full Track Listing:

1. Guile as a Vice
2. Succumbing

You can pick up some of Merchant’s music over on Bandcamp & find more out about the band on Facebook.