Samothrace are a frustrating band to love. Their debut LP, 2008's Life's Trade, was a landmark of modern American doom, even if no one knew it then. Nearly an hour's worth of shifting, sludgy, atmospheric, and altogether beautiful metal was offered, and those who fell under its spell fell hard. The only problem was, Samothrace kept it mostly to themselves. The band toured, briefly; they underwent some lineup changes, stealthily left their home of Lawrence, Kansas, crossed state lines to resettle in the Northwest, then eased back down into their slumber. Rousing sleepily from time to time to assure us that they really were working on new material, the band members drifted into other projects, most notably bassist Dyan Desmond's startlingly good funeral doom duo Bell Witch. Finally, at the tail end of 2011, their name began to pop up once again-- a gig with Mournful Congregation here, a whispered breath about new songs there, until at long last, a May announcement came that revealed a new full-length was on its way. Brought to us again by the impeccably turned-out 20 Buck Spin, Reverence to Stone's two songs clock in at 14 and 20 minutes, respectively, and yet it still feels like they're holding out on us.
"When We Emerged" starts softly, gently, allowing the buildup to burn out before the inevitable crash. Lush and expansive without sacrificing the despondent undertones and crushing heaviness of truly great doom, the song drags itself through fire and ice, into glistening melodies and out of howling voids. Bryan Spinks' earth-shaking roars are menacing and hopeless in equal measure. Rough, ragged, and guttural, his vocals offer an almost startling contrast to the refined melodicism of the music itself, and yet, it works. These vocals surface when necessary, in careful measure; Spinks' hoarse wails never overpower, but serve only to augment. The riffs wend their way through, low-slung and tantalizingly slow, and are momentarily overshadowed by the sweeping solo that spirals through at the halfway mark and cuts through the gloom, as glorious as it may be. In terms of rhythm, Desmond's basslines hold everything together and power Reverence to Stone, while drummer Joe Axler, also of Book of Black Earth, is more understated. As crucial as balance and dynamics are to this kind of music, a band is only as good as its drummer; luckily, the guitarists behind Samothrace have found themselves the perfect foil. Axler's crash cymbals do most of the grunt work, while his heavy-handed approach to slow, purposeful doom drumming works wonders within its narrow confines. After nearly 15 minutes, the song draws itself to a close, then collapses inwards, heaving and shuddering under reams of feedback.
With "A Horse of Our Own", there's no buildup and no time to prepare for the avalanche. Immediate immersion, as if the band itself was tired of waiting and eager to tear into the next song (which, after four years, would make sense). A bluesy, wailing solo sets the stage for Spinks, and the main riff unfurls at the speed of burning sulfur. A quiet, contemplative instrumental section diffuses the intensity for about three minutes, and then the hammer comes crashing down once more. The clear, mournful chords ringing through the latter half of "A Horse of Our Own" could have been plucked straight from Life's Trade's "Awkward Hearts", a testament to Samothrace's ablity to sound like no one but themselves. There is continuity here. This album is a worthy successor, not an interloper or pale imitation.
The production on Reverence to Stone is warm and open, deftly handled by Brandon Fitzsimons (ex-Wormwood) and mastering engineer Greg Wilkinson, whose past work with Brainoil and Graves at Sea had very clearly prepared him for the job of isolating and coaxing each tone into its fullest, richest incarnation. The album sounds huge, and makes good on the lofty expectations it's been faced with from the get go. The only real complaint one might lodge is that it's simply too short. Give us more. We've waited this long, and we'll be here for the next round, but don't be cruel.
