adg211288 As someone who listens to a lot of albums from different genres of metal, I have to say that most of the them have very standard sounds at their core, even the more adventurous and progressive ones. Most have comparable artists/releases. Every so often though there is a release like Cursus Impasse: The Pendlomic Vows (2016), which is the second full-length album by American two-piece act Howls of Ebb (formerly three-piece). It's an album where the genre elements going into it are familiar but what comes out sounds unlike anything else I've ever come across.

Genre descriptions I've previously read for Howls of Ebb did little to prepare me for what Cursus Impasse: The Pendlomic Vows was going to sound like. Usually these guys seem to be described as being somewhere between death and black metal and to a certain extent they do deliver a blackened death metal sound, with a little bit of doom metal creeping in as well. However what actually characterises this record and makes it stand out is how experimental it is. Even when playing what could be considered a fairly standard section of death metal music Howls of Ebb somehow manage to sound different and even weird. Even their song titles could be considered unusual with names like 7 Ascetic Cinders, 8 Dowries of gA'nOm or The 6th Octopul'th Grin. Calling the album an avant-garde blackened death metal album wouldn't be far off the mark, though of course other listeners may come up with their own classification. And that's the beauty of this rather twisted sounding album, it doesn't seem to give a damn about any sort of genre boundaries.

This unusual kind of sound has made Cursus Impasse: The Pendlomic Vows an intriguing release to keep coming back to and explore a little more each time, but I honestly couldn't say after even a couple of listens whether I actually liked what these guys were doing. It's instantly interesting and impressive because its different, but it took me several more listens to decide on whether or not it was actually in a good way. I eventually decided that it definitely was, but the album didn't instantly sell itself to me, so it could never be considered the kind of album that would serve as a go-to for quick thrills (unless you really like weird stuff, I guess). But as I've found with some other releases put out by the I, Voidhanger Records label Howls of Ebb have created something that rewards the patient listener who will take their time and really dig deep into their music. It's much like Spectral Lore's III (2014) and Midnight Odyssey's Shards of Silver Fade (2015) in that respect, though its significantly shorter running time does make it easier to digest than either of those albums, though those aren't weird like this is, so the comparison is still valid.

UMUR "The Marrow Veil" is an EP release by US progressive death metal act Howls of Ebb. The EP was released through I, Voidhanger Records in September 2015. Howls of Ebb was formed in 2012 and released their debut full-length studio album "Vigils of the 3rd Eye" in 2014.

The music on the 3 track, 34:34 minutes long EP is a filthy, raw, and quite experimental/progressive type of death metal, which is pretty much a continuation of the sound established on "Vigils of the 3rd Eye (2014)". The music has taken an even more experimental direction than on the debut album though, and "The Marrow Veil" is not an easy listening experience. Two out of the three tracks featured on the EP are very long. "Standing on Bedlam, Burning in Bliss" is 19:46 minutes long and "Iron Laurels, Woven in Rust" is 12:19 minutes long. "Dusks Tyrannical Lore" is a short ambient interlude type track. The song structures are relatively complex, and quite a lot happens during the playing time.

The sound production is very raw and a bit noisy, which makes the whole thing sound slightly messy and lo-fi. It´s not 100% true that the sound is lo-fi, but it´s very unpolished. The sound on the debut album was also very raw and unpolished but to my ears they´ve taken it a bit too far on "The Marrow Veil", and the music suffers from it.

I´m not sure where Howls of Ebb is going to take their music from here, and if "The Marrow Veil" is a sort of experiment it´s a relatively interesting one, although it´s far from flawless, but I sure hope they´ll get back to more conscise songwriting on whatever they are going to release next. It´s great to write progressive music and long tracks, but this all seems a bit unfocused and lacking memorability. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Vigils of the 3rd Eye" is the debut full-length studio album by US, San Francisco, California based death metal act Howls of Ebb. The album was released through I, Voidhanger Records in February 2014. Howls of Ebb was formed in 2012 and on this album consists of such exotic sounding musician names as Benign Blight on bass, Rotten Bliss on drums, and zEleFthANd on vocals and guitars. In other words a classic trio formation.

Stylistically the music on "Vigils of the 3rd Eye" is an old school type of death metal with experimental/progressive leanings. It´s dark and filthy, featuring an occult sci-fi atmosphere, and a generally twisted and adventurous songwriting approach. At various points during the playing time I´m reminded of artists like Cadaver, Carbonized, Autopsy, Voivod, and early death metal era-Darkthrone. But it´s especially the Norwegians in Diskord I´m thinking about when listening to "Vigils of the 3rd Eye".

As mentioned above the atmosphere of the album reeks dark oddness. A feeling which is further enhanced by songtitles like "Martian Terrors, Limbonic Steps", "Opulent Ghouls... Blessed Be Thy End", and "Illucid Illuminati of the Dark". So this is definitely not your everyday old school death metal album. Nor is it one of those flashy and cleanly produced technical/progressive death metal albums by artists like Obscura and their ilk.

The 9 tracks on the 47:55 minutes long album takes you on a gloomy journey through a nightmarish soundscape of deep growling yet aggressive toned vocals, loose organic drumming, and organic toned guitars and bass. The band varies pace quite often, and you´ll be exposed to both doomy, mid-paced, and blasting sections. In addition to that the music is often quite atmospheric too. I initially thought the band used low in the mix keyboards to enhance the atmosphere, but after listening a bit more closely I think it´s the guitar which plays those parts. All tracks on the album are very well composed and quite intriguing and it´s obvious that the three guys in the band are both skilled on their instruments and clever composers.

Howls of Ebb has opted for an organic, dark, and far from typical sounding death metal production for "Vigils of the 3rd Eye". The sound suits the music perfectly, and is another great asset to the album. So upon conclusion "Vigils of the 3rd Eye" is a great debut album by Howls of Ebb. While it´s undeniably old school in sound and execution, it´s still quite innovative/progressive and the combination of the raw and simple with the more technical and sophisticated works wonders here, creating an almost perfect balance. A 4.5 star (90%) rating is well deserved.