I really dug this St. Louis outfit’s last record, A Black Sea, which came out late in 2013. But seeing as it was a collaborative effort with local folk band Indian Blanket, I’m definitely expecting some different sounds from The Lion’s Daughter this time around.
What we get instead are 40 minutes of Midwest blackened sludge that’s pretty heavy on the black. “Mass Green Extinticus” features blast beats and tremolo picking amongst some downtuned passages and raw-sewage vocals, while “Nothing Lies Ahead” meshes some Exorcist ambiance with lightning-fast picking, lumbering riffs and sludge vocals, mostly up-tempo.
“Dog Shaped Man” almost has more of a noise-rock feel, driven by a steady chug with some added guitar flourishes—before taking a brief turn towards Norway around the midway mark. Perhaps my closest comparison on some of these tunes would be Inter Arma, although there aren’t any 10-minute epics to be found here.
Nor do we hear any of the melodic or progressive elements found on A Black Sea. Suffice to say, this is a totally different album from its predecessor.
thelionsdaughter.bandcamp.com/album/existence-is-horror
