One of the first things ‘Weaver of Witchery’ does well is create atmosphere. ‘Miserate’ don’t just throw in a bunch of slow riffs, call it Death/Doom, and slap it out on the world. This thing feels like it’s got ahold of you, making you walk through whatever dark landscape it takes you. The weight is there right off the bat, but what stitches it all together are the subtle bursts of melodic passages you hear every now and again that break through, like rays of light pushing through water for a brief moment before falling back into the murk.
That contrast is important to keep any of the heavier parts from sounding flat, making the sludgy bits even more impactful when they come back.
The vocals do a great job of reflecting that feel too, coming across as low and forceful without quite hitting that deep, cavernous growl, though there’s something about the delivery that’s kind of similar to ‘Paul Riedl’ from ‘Blood Incantation’, not the bands themselves at all, but definitely that commanding low-end vocal power.
There’s a couple points it sounds like what you would hear while seeing a dark hooded figure in some shadowy grove walking around, which is saying a lot about how well ‘Miserate’ push this atmosphere. Really well done with this one, and definitely works for me with how it’s heavy, melodic, immersive and dark without being one-dimensional. The atmosphere is the draw, sure, but there’s a hell of a lot more going on to make this more than just your run-of-the-mill sludgy Death/Doom.
