Two years ago Heath Rave (Lotus Thrones, ex-Wolvhammer) came together with Jeff Wilson (Chrome Waves), Alan Cassidy (the Black Dahlia Murder) and Nathan Verschoor (UADA) and collaborated on a project using the nomenclature of Altars of the Moon. Resulting in Brahmastra, a two-track, 28-minute exploration into a more psychedelic and darker corner of doom metal than the trio’s main projects were known for. Released digitally through disorder recordings Brahmastra took Wildhoney through a cloudy afternoon of hemlock tea and the mushrooms we’re told to stay away from as children. It was a truly miserable affair.
Now, in the year of our lord 2023, the trio have returned with “The Colossus and the Widow,” a 32-minute juggernaut of a track, broken into two parts (“The Colossus” and “The Widow” respectively) to be released on November 10, on all formats again through disorder recordings. Joined this time by the Black Dahlia Murder’s Alan Cassidy on drums and frequent Lotus Thrones collaborator Bruce Lamont (Yakuza) on saxophone as well as a guest appearance from Mac Gollenhon (Duran Duran, David Bowie) on trumpet rounding out the lineup, “The Colossus and the Widow” is a sonic monolith of a record. Building upon the U.K. death/doom of the early ’90s influence from the previous recording Altars of the Moon lean heavily into the more, for lack of a better word, post aspect of doom and even black metal, with heavy experimentation and morose psychedelia. Think mid-’90s Paradise Lost mixed with the Birthday Party and you might start to get the idea.
The three-headed serpent of Altars of the Moon’s core membership are all known for genre exploration/deconstruction certainly, but even with that pedigree listeners will find surprises at every corner. The Colossus and the Widow is a challenging record that will reward patient listeners time and time again. Today we present one of the visual representations of the record, “G.O.D. INITIATIVE,” taken from the first movement “The Colossus.”
You can preorder The Colossus and The Widow through Disorder Recordings now.
