Hi, you wanna know about us?By: Ernesto Aguilar
Album Type: Full length
Date Released: 05/09/2017
Label: Relapse Records
The guitars are thoroughly dissonant and murky, the bass is husky and drums voluminous. Then there are the vocals, which feel like they're being delivered with the sort of urgency of someone trapped at the bottom of a deep well. The whole composition of the record is just magnificent for doom fans.
“Portals into Futility” CD//DD//LP track listing
1. Eidolons and the Increate
2. Lathe of Heaven
3. Demon Haunted World
4. Pyrrhic Victory
5. A Crown of Desolation
The Review:
Portland's Usnea is known and loved for a few things. These include its unique doom metal sound, ambitious concepts and sprawling music. Its 2014 four-song recording, "Random Cosmic Violence," clocked in at about an hour. Its self-titled 2013 debut contained two tracks on vinyl, with download code for two songs comprising 25 more minutes. And although the genre is rather renowned for its density, with "Portals into Futility"ticking in at just under an hour, Usnea demonstrates aptitude for music with a rare depth.
After its release, there were murmurs that "Random Cosmic Violence" did not deliver the oomph of Usnea's debut. Some of that clatter could well be chalked up to what follows promising acts that go from independent labels to big independents like Relapse. Critics pointed to a wilder vocal style in the debut sliding into a two-vocalist approach that could be seen as formulaic at turns. Exciting moments there were, but subtle questions amped up some of the tension.
"Portals into Futility" is a solid return to form for a young band widely expected to do great things. There are also hints of maturation for its songsmithing. Along with the longer tracks – two songs compose about half the playing time here – that allow this imaginative group some musical space and are cuts that seem indicative of a crew that is open to test itself and the genre itself. Such courage is rather exhilarating, and makes for quite a frenzied trip.
Usnea's return starts with "Eidolons and the Increate,"for which there is likely a fantastic backstory or other mythology. Heavy of the sludge, you may also notice some post-punk and funeral doom influences herein. Joel Williams and Justin Cory are back on vocal duties, and they seem far sharper this time around. They manage to keep the opener – at 12 minutes in length, you might ponder the wisdom of this kind of beginning – very dynamic. Usnea's bass and drums are a stand out early too. Credit the tight arrangement and what seems to be an evolution of Usnea's performance. Such advancement is to be expected for a group that sticks together after a few years. You similarly hear this progression in this next track, "Lathe of Heaven," a compact song that is a good example of why many have seen so much potential in Usnea. From a relaxed build with an almost Americana or desert vibe, Usneaplunges you into a far less hospitable place just before the three-minute mark. The guitars are thoroughly dissonant and murky, the bass is husky and drums voluminous. Then there are the vocals, which feel like they're being delivered with the sort of urgency of someone trapped at the bottom of a deep well. The whole composition is just magnificent for doom fans.
The terror continues with "Demon Haunted World" then to "Pyrrhic Victory," where the vocals alternate between Williams and Cory. If you enjoyed them together on "Random Cosmic Violence," you will most assuredly find their work on the latest leaps and bounds better. The vocal pairing feels more clearly formed and executed on the latest. If you did not love it last time, you may well be won over by Usnea's growth. The production on "Portals of Futility" is flawless across the board, and lyrically and vocally there is no exception. This is top-shelf doom metal sure to excite fans.
The album's closing, "A Crown of Desolation," is arguably the best, and the most perplexing, cut. The folk-flecked chords hurl the listener headlong into a thick wall of guitar. As noted, Usnea is not afraid to test itself, and this song breaks away from its characteristic vocals to offer ghostly choruses and ultraheavy bass lines that press hard on your mind. Over the track's 19-plus minutes, you will catch the aforementioned folk chords and choruses again, and more of what makes the quartet so good, and a few departures from what you've heard throughout. Finishing with a standard doom track with slow guitars and howling vocals might have been a perfectly satisfying way to wrap. Instead you get a song befitting its place at the conclusion of the recording.
"Portals of Futility" is available here
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