ALBUM REVIEW & TRACK PREMIERE: Eternal Black - "Bleed The Days"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 08/08/2017

Label: Independent

The sheer weight of the riffs will indeed threaten to pull you under, as they deliver just the right amount of menace to go with the fuzz. There is a hefty dose of soul in the music here, along with a pervading blackness.

“Bleed The Days” CD//DD track listing:

1). The Lost, The Forgotten and The Undying

2). Snake Oil and Coffin Nails

3). Sea of Graves

4). Into Nothing

5). Stained Eyes on a Setting Sun

6). Bleed The Days

7). All Gods Fail

The Review:

Proper American doom! There's your starting point for this review. Their three track EP from a couple of years back got my attention, so this record was anticipated by me as hopefully being a good one. The band have made good on their early promise and delivered a real beast of doom. Think The Obsessedand Saint Vitus as reference points- with a hefty dose of Sabbath in the background of course.

There are not too many bands around like this, not just any more, but ever. Eternal Black, as my last review noted, till the same soil as Scott Weinrich and his sundry projects- that is to say that there is a hefty dose of soul in the music here, along with a pervading blackness. There are concise riff chargers like opener “The Lost, The Forgotten and The Undying” and the band open up and get loose with jazz-like bass work and rhythms on second track “Snake Oil and Coffin Nails”. The sheer weight of the riffs on “Sea of Graves” will indeed threaten to pull you under, as they deliver just the right amount of menace to go with the fuzz. Ah, this Brooklyn band know how to channel the spirit of Dave Chandler, that's for sure.

The haunting instrumental “Into Nothing”progresses the record's dark feel and acts as a bridge between the first and second half. Naturally, things are just as dark for the following three tracks. “Stained Eyes on a Setting Sun” is a slithering festival of murk, with some seriously fuzzy riffing. The title track is a real stand out in terms of atmosphere and vibe- pure Vitus worship in the riffs and sound.

The album closes with the close to eleven minute track “All Gods Fall”, which is a rather epic finisher to this fine doom album. Just as with the 2015 EP, the band are not reinventing the doom wheel, but they are making fine classic doom in the proud American tradition. This is low, slow and as dark as the band's name suggests. For anyone looking for that Vitus/Maryland vibe, this is absolutely for you. If you don’t belief me, check out the stunning title track “Bleed The Days” which we are streaming  exclusively below

“Bleed The Days”is available to preorder/buy here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook