So, I might be a little late on this self-proclaimed “Weight & Grunt” doom duo—which is just a nice way of saying they don’t have a guitarist. But hey, when it comes to this style of music, you’re better off with bass and no guitar than the other way around.
From what I can ascertain, Of Ruin is Ghold’s third album, and it’s been out in the UK for a couple months already. The six-song platter starts off slowly, as you might imagine, with light, mellow bass lines alternating with droning feedback and crunchy percussion within the first couple minutes. From there, we get a slow-paced, pummeling attack, not unlike The Body, but with much deeper vocals. “Partaken Incarnate” has a slightly more tribal feel, somewhat along the lines of OM… but again, The Body’s influence is readily apparent.
Things slow to a whisper on “All Eyes Broke” before “Pursed” purveys a crustier, mid-paced attack that soon slows to a sludgy crawl. And it doesn’t get much slower and sludgier than 11-minute epic “Odic Force,” which just oozes death-doom devastation, despite some left-field percussive detours. All in all, it’s a pretty decent effort.
