GOATPSALM “Downstream” /CD/

The third full-length studio album by Dark Ambient/Funeral Doom Metal band.
While the band’s sound has been, and remains, rooted within the dark and maleficent realms of Dark Ambient and Industrialized soundscapes, the band has often toyed and teased with uncounted styles and subgenres in their quest. Once again, Goatpsalm brings an album full of misery, but the band’s path of achieving that goal is much different from the trails they’ve trod during prior outings. The band has always said that their line-up, aside from the core duo, has flowed as freely as their music. Downstream sees the addition of Vaarwel, the force behind the eclectic Russian project Frozen Ocean, which sees another left turn for Goatpsalm.
Despite the grand scale of Goatpsalm’s writing, "Downstream" is anything but an easy listen. The band is constantly teetering on the edge between shamanistic Ambient musings, crushing dirges and jarring, Industrialized movements. It’s as if the band wanted to imbue the listener with a sense of wonder and amazement, then quickly remove any sign of hope with an iron fist. The sparing vocals further in the removal of anything that might glimmer, utilizing a multifaceted approach, with each vocalist sounding just as dreadful and miserable as the next.
Moments of bewitching charm are surrounded by sepulchral slabs of Funeral-tinged Doom Metal and unsettling Industrialism. Repeated listens allow "Downstream" to become the earworm that it was meant to be, even if it invokes a fair amount of dread. This is not an album to sit passively in the background, but if you consider yourself up for a challenge, "Downstream" will be lurking in the dark.
Haunting passages of rustic Ambient noise, primal Paganism and slow dirgeful dread. Wonderfully atmospheric for fans of Blood Of The Black Owl!
Aesthetic Death, 2016 (ADCD 035). Made in UK. Pressed in Germany. First press.


Tracklist:
1. Grey Rocks 10:50  
2. Flowers Of The Underworld 14:05  
3. White Sea 4:55  
4. Orphan 5:56  
5. Of Bone And Sinew 4:23  
6. The Waylayer (A Great Spring Hunger) 8:26  
7. Downstream 9:59
Total playing time: 58:36 min.


Samples: https://goatpsalm.bandcamp.com