Goatpsalm - Downstream (Aesthetic Death) 2016
9
While many bands have one good tool at their disposal that they inevitably work to death, Goatpsalm’s approach is more multi-faceted, combining atmosphere that evokes the horror of Beksinski and Fulci, a sublime grasp of length and form, eclectic instrumentation and a strain of invasively catchy death-doom with the sole intent of creating sound which drags the listener into an mist-enshrouded alien netherworld. On paper, Downstream could have been an exercise in insubstantial genre-hopping but the Russians execute their plans with a subtle air, gently teasing in each new element before building up to crushing emotional denouements. Actually, it’s so subtle that there’s little chance of fully uncovering this album with a single listen; it requires time and focus but hopefully, after that time has elapsed, it can be recognised for what it is – a slab of pure doom supremacy.