Lovingly pinched from The Sleeping Shaman: From the windswept megalithic hills of the Northeast comes the new monstrous studio release by drug-sworn pentagram worshipping Bong. This has been a long time in coming, multiple live releases have emerged from this band but it’s been a while since a studio album was made. We may have waited for too long but it’s been worth every torturous second.
We find the Bong dudes on a journey to the outer limits of space, 3-2-1… but this lift off is slow, slower than an opium snail making its way to get some green, this is a sonic exploration. You may want to equate this band to other drone bands but that is to totally underestimate the majesty of the acid 60′s vibe they have captured on this recording. If you collectively placed the West Coast psych movement in a room, pumped their veins full of opiates then asked them to record, this is what would have probably been created.
The slow motion lethargic examination of the existential is only made greater by the resplendent sitar crowning the underworld swathe of rhythm and darkness. Harnessing the spirits of diabolical glory, the monk chanting, the My Bloody Valentine guitars, the steady monolithic drumming draws forth an incantation to the darkness and into the depths we merrily descend. This is truly monstrous and absolutely captivating.
Sunn maybe the benchmark for bands who want to out do their peers in volume and tone, but we now have our own homebrewed coven of misfits tearing down the robes, blowing out the candles and committing ever greater blasphemies. Entrench your soul, dismiss self-enlightenment and sacrifice yourself to the embracing blackness that is Bong.
Continue reading: The Sleeping Shaman – Bong ‘Beyond Ancient Space’ CD 2011.
Tags: Beyond Ancient Space, Bong, Pete Hamilton-Giles, Ritual Productions, The Sleeping Shaman
This entry was posted on Saturday, March 19th, 2011 at 8:08 am and is filed under 2011, Album of the Day . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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