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Usnea - Bathed In Light



6.9 | 14 votes |
Release date: 26 May 2023
Style: Blackened doom metal

Owners:

3 have it


01. Bathed In Light
02. The Compleated Sage
03. To The Deathless
04. From Soot And Pyre
05. Premeditatio Malorum
06. Uncanny Valley

Additional info
Released via Translation Loss Records
Recorded and Engineered by Greg Wilkinson at Earhammer Studios (Oakland, CA)
Mastered by Adam Gonsalves at Telegraph Mastering (Portland, OR)
Illustration, artwork and layout by Justin Cory

Staff review by
AndyMetalFreak
Rating:
6.7
Six years have now passed since Usnea presented us with their dark doomy, atmospheric Portals Into Futility. Now, will Bathed In Light follow the same route, or have those 6 years awoken any surprises? Whatever the case, you can expect something exceedingly heavy.

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published 28.05.2023 | Comments (1)

Found in 4 lists
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Comments

Comments: 1   Visited by: 23 users
22.07.2023 - 20:41
Rating: 8
ScreamingSteelUS
Editor-in-Chief
Admin
I didn't think too much of any of the previous Usnea albums, so I don't remember well enough to compare to this one, but I'm a bit surprised to see such an unenthusiastic response (as much as I am to be enjoying it so much). There isn't a whole lot of black metal on this album, save a few tremolo-picked riffs and some notable passages in the last song; it's definitely more of a funeral doom album with a rich atmosphere. Andy mentioned Katatonia in his review and that's not a bad comparison - Usnea do not seem interested in replicating the melancholy you get from the classic gothic death-doom bands, but they do have some similar layered lead guitar melodies going on throughout the album. That makes a big difference in memorability when it comes to extreme doom. I like the vocals, too, and the drums are a tad more aggressive than I think is typical of ultra-slow doom. I'm not sure I'm yet convinced to give a fresh listen to their first three albums, but I'm pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this.
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"Earth is small and I hate it" - Lum Invader

I'm the Agent of Steel.
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