ninehertz

Wow, this is dense, and immediately so, no prep time given, all movement restricted as we're surrounding by thick tar sludge and doom of the depths of Hell. This is the track Hevy, the first of five that constitute the album Submersus.

We're familiar with Hell of course, this is their fifth album and all proceeding four are established as essential listening for our corner of the extreme underworlds. They have always been one of the pure and grimiest proponents of the sound. And yet, even still this takes me aback, it hits like a pressure on the chest. If the song ended there it would be magnificent, but then it changes after four minutes and this marching riff breaks proceedings taking it to a new, equally, devilishly enticing nether realm. This is the best thing I've heard all year, and I'm only a track in; Hevy indeed.

I've had the pleasure of listening to this for a couple of weeks now, but as I'm writing this, with the second track Gravis working its spells once again through my headphones, I'm also following a written live blog of a bloated, corporate shitshow that is Black Sabbath's final final show taking place less than 90 miles away from me. It does make me think - this is the true spirit of Sabbath, doom is the true inheritance of that early music, and Hell create as pure a modern definition of the sound as anyone, this is the decaying, sludge strains of the spirit of Vol. 4.

After an atmospheric and melodic middle track, Mortem picks up the density immediately, guitars that crunch, vocals which seer. It develops into this achingly slow masterpiece, that for all the dark cloud oppressive mood set has an oddly uplifting inflection. It is another wonderful track. Bog threatens to break the spell cast with more than three minutes of throbbing static, but then eventually a satisfying riff emerges from the chaos; a slightly sparse but still threatening end.

It is of the standard we have come to expect from Hell. But we should not take it for granted. You're unlikely to hear a better doom album all year.