Of Spire & Throne "Vagary"

"Vagary" is the new EP from Scotland's doomsters Of Spire & Throne. Straight out of the deepest and filthiest sewers of Edinburgh, Of Spire & Throne are actually one of the most interesting bands coming straight out of the small sludge/doom scene of Edinburgh. "Vagary" is their third release, and consists on one monstrous track of 21 minutes. The thing i dig about this band the most is their sound. It's heavy, crushing and raw. No digital mambo-jambo here. No polished production or whatsoever. Just a pure set of guitars-bass-drum, played very intensely in order to crush us and to that add the growling cavernous voice of Ali Lauder that will make you shiver on every word vomited by his throat. The way doom should sound.

The track begins as we feared, slowly... i mean, very slowly. But yeah.. it's doom right? But these guys know exactly what they're pulling you into. At a very slow pace, all the instruments sound as if they're dragging us into this dark, cold and wet dungeon well hidden in the depths of Edinburgh Castle. The deep we're dragged into this pit, the more heavy the air gets. Clogged with decaying riffs the motto is set and Ali's voice crashes upon us like a thunder. This mournful pace remains like so until about half of the track where this beast evolves into a very, very depressed rhytm, always layered with this thick, massive riffs that consumes us. Suddenly the track lurks into another dynamic section of the track, and judging by the tone of it, it makes us guess that the end is very near. And as we predicted, just as it slowly emerged, all this massive weight is slowly fading away... hiding itself in the shadow until the next time. If i could just describe this track into one word i guess it would be: Epic.

In overall, "Vagary" is one track that represents perfectly what this music genre is all about. With this release, Of Spire & Throne have gained another crushing milestone in their emerging career. If you like your doom, slow, mournful and crushing heavy, then this one is for you. I can't listen to it without banging my head very slow, following every riff, every massive beat of the drums.

Support the band by buying this awesome EP thru their Bandcamp it's super-cheap and really worth it, also buy merch, go to shows. And please... will someone sign these guys? They need a full-length now!

A huge thanks to Ali and the rest of OS&T crew for sending me this. Follow their steps here.

Vagary