Album Review: Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin - Stygian Bough Volume 1
Reviewed by Robbie Maguire
It's only natural for there to be certain sub genres within extreme music that are so niche that rarely do they attract visitors simply popping by for a casual visit. Doom or to be more precise Funeral Doom is one of those hard to enter and dip into styles. However, those that do invest time in a visit will find themselves returning time and time again and are truly rewarded with so much more than what this often overlooked form of music is perceived to have to offer. ‘Stygian Bough Volume 1’ sees heavyweights of the doom scene Bell Witch joined by Aerial Ruin. The two outfits have collaborated previously, and this expansive and profound album sees the intriguing marriage of the dark folk ambience of Eric Moggridge (Aerial Ruin) and the colossal anguished doom of Bell Witch flourish further.
One thing you know with Bell Witch is you are going to get lengthy songs. Songs which allow the full depth, scope and creativity of the music to come to the fore. Opener ‘The Bastard Wind’ is a gripping tale drenched in mournful gloom. An ethereal measured guitar and keys intro gives way to a crushing riff. The slowness and presence of the bass heavy distorted drawn out chords heightening the melancholic feel of the track. This nineteen min track is the kind of epic you’d expect to close out an album let alone introduce its arrival. It slowly drags you in as it progresses mournfully on. The clean drums and fuzzy bass maintain a commanding grip allowing the entrancing lead guitar to dance sorrowfully as the song nears its conclusion. With such a stirring and heavy (in sound and feeling) start to this five song album, the reflective acoustic strains of ‘Heaven Torn Low (The Passage) affords some sensitive respite from the punishing monotonous doom of the opener and it makes for an enthralling listen. Ones anticipation of a crashing riff is not satisfied thankfully. Instead a mournful lament pushes the deep and engaging song wistfully onwards. The ability to create heaviness in tone to equal the sonic barrage and devastingly slow crush of before is refreshing. For this is heavy, make no mistake but heavy in a very different sense. Heavy in tone, feeling and emotion and it’s the emotional pull that is so strong. The delicacy of Moggridge’s vocals at times as haunting as they are soothing adding to this depth. The poetry of the lyrics wholly subjective but adding a narrative that echoes and enhances the beauty of the darkness.
Be under no illusions ‘The Stygian Bough Volume 1’ is not an easy listen. Yet for all its varying points of reference, emotional highs and devastating lows there is both a constant bleakness whilst at times a small, hopeful ray of uplifting light trying to break through the oppressive gloom. The lows are so depth plunging that when the smallest glimmer of brightness comes, this ray of light is heightened. The contrast of beauty created within the darkness is a triumph and gently appears shimmering through the mournful haze. The acoustic guitar and delicate vocals are examples of this. As are the feelings garnered from the songs. In the restorative and calming instrumental ‘Prelude’ Bell Witch/Aerial Ruin walk a thin line between the forlorn and the slightly joyful. Again the organ and guitar working beautifully in tandem.
For many a nineteen minute song would be seen as an ambitious way to close an album. However the length of song is not even a factor. I merely mention it for a point of reference as with Bell Witch, Doom and Funeral Doom, lengthier songs are a recurring theme. They allow the music to become a more engaging listen and the full emphasis and nature of the songs can be experienced. It is indeed more of a journey. ‘The Unbodied Air’ is every much the album closer as it is the culmination of that journey. Crunching guitars, repetitive soundscapes, harrowing growls (not over the top) play against a droney sea of synth like distorted keys. A lone organ again adds a distinct sadness to the liturgical feel of the song. The softly echoed vocals pushing the fragility and joyless feel of the journey to near breaking point only for a punishingly slow guitar to break through and carry the song painfully onwards. Everything combines again and the journey is finally nearly over. There appears a hopeful glimmer in the structure of the closing as the organ, an instrument used so effectively throughout is left to solely close this mesmeric yet difficult album.
For the most part it’s not an immediately accessible album and in truth is a hard nut to crack. Yet when it has been cracked ‘Stygian Bough Volume 1’ will afford so much more than the cliché view of what Funeral Doom yields. The calming acoustic guitar and vocals enrich the songs and add texture to what would be a desolate, crushing album. Clearly not for everyone but once fully committed and immersed in the dark, haunting and enchanting characteristics you will experience the many rewards this compelling album has to offer.
