ninehertz

It is telling that despite having no releases for a decade – no album for 13 years – Sea Bastard live strong and bright in the memory, in the overarching UK doom underground’s consciousness. They are and always have been a flagship band, pushing at the extremes to claim new grounds. Their return is to be celebrated.

Cyclopean is but four tracks yet spreads and oozes itself out across 76 minutes – which would seem slightly ridiculous if you’re not familiar with their recorded work to date. They have lost none of their appetite for the gigantean narratives of old. It is Sea Bastard as we know and love, but any idea of stalling, of treading water or taking a step back to get back into their rhythm is dismissed emphatically. They’ve never sounded better nor clearer in their vision.

In no time at all they’re into their work of atmosphere-clogging doom, vocals that are deathly rites from beneath the earth, then leaning back into that most satisfying of turgid riffs at regular intervals. This is doom as an apparatus of punishment. Seven minutes pass before it evolves at all, an increase in pace (from stagnant to sluggish), yet even then it descends into true funeral doom.

They’re often placed in a bracket with their old split and tour partners Primitive Man, which makes a lot of sense, but there’s a more frequent comparison that springs to mind throughout the album, that of Thou, in touches. It is in the developing bleakness, their control and patience, the progressive mindedness towards the grandest of doom sounds. Songs unfurl like fog, but with a sheer weight that is wonderful to behold.

Every avenue feels coated in a furry layer of grime, static and harsh fuzz noise. Each track is headed into with trepidation and excitement in equal measure, where you lose track of time and sense of your surroundings. There is a relentless misery that impacts on your mental fatigue, but you hold on, hanging in to sustain the journey.

This is why Sea Bastard are held in such high regard. Many a doom band string out their songs to diabolical lengths as it is the done thing – Sea Bastard require the 25 minutes that some of these songs last to simply fit in their whole musical narrative, a glacial evolution that needs to be witnessed in full to truly understand and gain the full experience. This is doom at its extreme, but also its most fearless and most thrilling.