ninehertz

This may only be a two-track demo/EP, but such is the viscosity of the death-doom inside you’ll feel sticky and off balance for days after listening. This is the second such release by Boneeater, from New Brunswick in Canada, and the physical releases through Ancient Temple Recordings and Phage Tapes have neatly compiled both together.

Both songs pass the ten-minute mark. Parasites of Dead Earth is truly catatonic death-doom, the musical equivalent of an undead corpse that is struggling to even break free of its grave. It equally feels like we're wading in a peat bog for the majority, so that even a simple screech – after seven minutes of play – wakes you from the docile state they have induced thus far. It displays full commitment to the death-doom cause.

There are shimmering guitars in a slightly discordant opening to Void of Light Forever before collapsing down to form, down to barely any movement, making its home in a verdant, toxic atmosphere. The splurge forward is snail-like but manages to pack some heft in so that the weight can be felt on your chest. It is inescapable too as it is in no hurry to move off.

It is an example of how impressive Boneeater are in staying the course, a wholehearted commitment to the punishing tenets of death-doom. The EP is all the better for it, and over all too quickly.