BitterJalapeno Orogenic processes fast-forwarded while the stricken lay dying...

The fifth full-length offering from Liverpudlian doom metal machine Conan shows no sign of deviating from spirit-crushing, despair-filled doom metal of the most ferocious degree. Clocking in at over 50 minutes, Conan’s latest is their longest album to date and is somewhat a return to their older style, centring the structure around lengthier cuts as opposed to the shorter, punchier tracks featured on 2018’s impressive Existential Void Guardian. However, there are still pockets of aggressive sludge here – such as the punk-tinged “Ritual of Anonymity” which contains some of the album's faster-paced sections. The aggression in the middle is bookended by two epochs of slow-moving, catastrophic doom which despite their length, do not outstay their welcome and are the strongest portions of music on offer here.

There are two things that Conan’s music always brings to mind: barbaric battles and geological processes. Opening track “A Cleaved Head No Longer Plots” is so destructively heavy and dense that it manages to replicate how I imagine the collision of continents would sound if occurring in 10 minutes rather than over a period of millions of years. The usual pulverising doom riffs are nuanced with some nice touches of post-metal adding stylistic diversity. Conjured in the mind are images of thick, slow-moving lava snaking its way down the side of a volcano as pyroclastic bombs descend from the ash-obscured sky above, reducing everything in their path to cinders.

In addition to the strong structure, the album impresses from a production perspective. The viscosity of the guitar and bass tone is unfathomable while still allowing the drums to shine through with crystal clarity. It’s obvious that Conan has lost none of its forbidding atmospheric quality and on Evidence of Immortality, some additional features develop this further. Organs are utilised to great effect in the funeral doom closer “Grief Sequence”, providing another layer of ominous atmosphere as the brooding, monolithic guitar chords gradually edge the listener towards their impending death following the aftermath of a medieval bloodbath. The sinister atmosphere intensifies as the song (and album) crawls to an end, assisted by the inclusion of warping flange techniques on the organs, delivering a fever dream-like sound as if the stricken listener is slipping into a delusional state as their life approaches its inevitable terminus.

Conan has delivered yet another high-quality lump of barbarically heavy doom metal and have once again re-cemented themselves as a prime act of the genre by adding another pillar to their legacy – one with the utmost consistency in quality, and undoubtedly, longevity.

BitterJalapeno Released in 2018, “Existential Void Guardian” is the fourth full length studio album by UK doom metal titans Conan. It’s a release which carries on in a similar vein to the preceding albums. This is certainly not a negative point as the consistently high standard of said releases is commendable and on this one, the songwriting has an even greater level of sophistication.

As usual, we are instantly lambasted with an impenetrable storm of monumental riffs from which there is no escape. The guitar tone is beyond powerful and is amongst the densest I’ve ever heard. This is accompanied by angst ridden and enraged vocals which are reminiscent of Scott Kelly. The overall vibe is somewhat a fusion of the abrasive, pained anger of Neurosis and the slow stoner doom of Sleep but avoiding the whole idea of creating a 1 hour long track from a handful of riffs and jam-like solos.

Aside from the songwriting, one thing that stands out from previous releases is the production - clearer, warmer and more professional sounding without going so far as to sound overly polished. This is ideal for not compromising the delightfully ludicrous levels of heaviness in the music.

“Existential Void Guardian” is an utterly crushing album and truly provides the sense of an impending disaster looming on the horizon. If doom metal is your thing, you should familiarise yourself with Conan’s material if you have not already.

Warthur Conan's Monnos is an intimidating monolith of traditional doom metal from the duo of Jon Davis on guitars and vocals and Paul O'Neill on drums (plus a few synthesiser spots here and there which don't quite tip things over the edge into drone doom but do occasionally threaten to). Though their riffs are as heavy as those, say, on Electric Wizard's Dopethrone or Sleep's Dopesmoker, the stripped-down, bare-bones lineup gives their material an intriguingly sparse and back-to-basics sound which gives them a distinctive voice in traditional doom metal.

Despite the band's name, put all thought of epic fantasy soundtracks out of your mind, because this is a much more cold and unforgiving proposition; likewise, the terse, laconic lyrics seem intended less to convey a fleshed-out fantasy narrative and more to suggest a story through flashes of the protagonist's state of mind. In short, the band take Electric Wizard's fascination with old school sword and sorcery tales to a new level of stark, pitiless brutality. The end result won't be for everyone but it's definitely intriguing.

Time Signature Metal as weapon...

Genre: sludge doom

Ah yes, slow and heavy music. There is just something hauntingly compelling about the genre of doom metal which makes it so unique in comparison to other metal genres. And, no matter how different doom bands might sound, they typically have in common crushing heaviness and a focus on other emotions than aggression.

Take for instance Conan's debut album Monnos which is a lesson in crushingly heavy grooves and the power of simplicity. Conan are often classified as a stoner doom band, but I would not want to get stoned while listening to their music – that would probably just lead to an angst-driven and paranoia-centred bad trip. The thing is that Conan, whose music is more on the sludgy side, have embraced a near-minimalistic style which brings about images of desolation and barrenness. While not super slow, the tracks on the album are definitely very heavy, and driven by simple and crushing riffs – some of which make use of drone notes and many of which are based on stomping grooves which, due to the simplicity itself, are extremely powerful.

Their music is so heavy that even uptempo passages, as in the case of 'Battle in the Swamp' come across doom-laden and oppressive. This owes in part to the nature of the riffage itself and in part to the insanely bottom-rich and fuzzy sound of the downtuned guitars – just check the intros of 'Headless Hunter' and 'Invisible Throne' which consist of of droning power chords heavy enough to suck the entire solar system into an all destructive black hole of suicidal depression.

The drumming is considerably organic and dynamic, which I quite like, and the vocals range from sludge-oriented harshness to a more chanting style. I would probably prefer a more elaborate and powerful singing style, but then again, the vocals used on the album do fit the barrenness of the music very well. The lyrical universe seems to evolve around epic battles in various desolate and barren, and of course swampy, fantasy landscapes (likely to be inspired by 70s and 80s fantasy movies, literature, and computer games [the instrumental 'Golden Axe' is likely to be named after a classic 80s fantasy archade game]), and, it is definitely interesting to hear such lyrics performed in non-operatic vocals in a non-epic doom metal style.

Fans of crushingly heavy music, such as stoner doom, sludge doom and the like, should definitely give Conan's Monnos a listen. Its heavy and simple riffage has all the stuff that makes for good sludge doom.

(review originally posted at seaoftranquility.org)