Someone, somewhere once described Spook the Beast as “a cross between Neurosis, Ulcerate and Cult of Luna.” After mopping up the anticipatory drool that puddled in the folds of my Through Silver in Blood zip-up, oozed on to my Somewhere Along the Highway work out shorts and Vermis tour shirt, I tracked the band down and found that the quintet hail from the Ontario city of Kitchener-Waterloo, less than a hour from where I rest my weary bones and heavy head. I also discovered their debut release, the Where All Things Die EP which was issued at the tail of 2021 and lived up to the salivation hype.
The band has returned with a new EP, entitled Guided By the Second Sun. Set for release tomorrow, it offers three songs of sludgy despondency and bleak goodness wrapped in tectonic guitar/bass tones, crater-forming drums and vocals from the pit of the Sarlaac. Today, we offer you the opportunity to be crushed by its bleary moroseness via a stream of the record, located below. Says vocalist N.J. Borreta about Spook the Beast’s latest release: “Guided By the Second Sun reflects the maturation of our relationships with each other as writers and performers. We’ve become more comfortable with each other and bringing out the best elements of ourselves in a cohesive way. The EP’s structures, arrangements, and themes have come a long way since our last release.”
