Ever since I discovered the unique band that is Inter Arma, I’ve been on an unspoken search to find bands that are similar to their style: a mixture of a whole fuck of a lot of stuff but mainly revolving around a mixture of doom and sludge metal peppered with some psychedelia for good measure. For over two years, my search has proved fruitless, until today. With the discovery of Faces of the Bog, I once again know what it’s like to be truly bewildered.
Now, I don’t want you to get the wrong idea here. If you’ve heard Inter Arma before, I don’t want you to think I’m saying that Faces of the Bog is a basic carbon copy of them. Hell, no! They’re just very similar in style is all. Enough with my digression, though, for we’re here to talk about what Faces of the Bog have done with their debut album of “Ego Death”. What can I say? It’s simply stunning! It’s an absolutely intoxicating mix of sludge filled doom with a psychedelic atmosphere the likes of which can truly keep you glued to your very seat. This 51-minute record is the very definition of out of this world as Faces of the Bog truly use the conventional instruments of a metal band in ways that it takes true innovators of the strings and melodies to pull off even on one track, but “Ego Death” presents seven tracks that aren’t even an iota short of pure genius. Whether it be the crushing doom that Faces of the Bog lays down with ease or the amazingly thick atmosphere that they effortlessly weave for us to wade through, but we could never comprehend their full grandeur so instead we’ve no choice but to gape in awe at its magnificence. “Ego Death”, if you want a short description, is nothing less than a landmark album of the metal underground that shows a real turning point when it comes down to how new bands are coming together and thinking of how to create something new and different for both themselves and the masses.
If Inter Arma was the first of what’s to come, then it’s Faces of the Bog that are the beginnings of a glorious wave that is sure to sweep over all of the metal underground. This specially potent concoction of sludgy doom metal is just so delicious that it’s hard to resist, and should you be wanting to hear the next great sound in metal then I firmly believe Faces of the Bog is one of two places that you can currently experience it. “Ego Death” shows that these gentlemen out of Chicago aren’t playing around, and I’ve no doubt that should they come together to make a sophomore record in the future . . . there’s nothing we could do to prepare ourselves.
BUY “Ego Death” via iTunes here.
LISTEN to “Ego Death” on Bandcamp here.
LIKE Faces of the Bog on Facebook here.
FOLLOW Faces of the Bog on Twitter : @Faces_ofthe_Bog
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