Friday 30 April 2010

Deafest / Livimorket Split

Deafest / Livimørket, 2009 (9th Meridian Records) 78%



A rather curious anecdote to start this review. A little while back we had a visit from a band called Maths at the end of an arduous tour. The man behind Livimørket popped in to Rapture, our shop in Witney, and managed to pick up some music and a copy of Asgard Root. This is how I find myself in receipt of his split with Colorado troupe Deafest - and what a treat it is too. Let's begin with Deafest, whose name refers to the wise belief that humanity is the 'deafest' species on this planet, unable to hear the Earth's needs. Before you cry 'hippie' let me reassure you that there are no cowbells and drum circles going on here! Rather, what we have is a splendidly produced two-track lament at our exploitation and destruction of the world around us. Buzzsaw guitars wine their melancholy tunes, with a faint, tribal drumbeat a mere balast for the creativity around it. Lookinf over the website for Deafest it is clear that they've been productive for some time and I can only ask why it is that I have only just chanced upon them in the unlikeliest fashion. Hailing from Littleton, Colorado Deafest will suffer obvious comparisons to Wolves in the Throne Room, who along with the likes of ColdWorld and Xasthur are obvious influences - but Deafest certainly exhibit enough vitality to be considered on their own merits. The sumptuous melodies that float around the spacious 'From Subterranean Seeds To Supporting The Sky' resound with an ancient and profound reverence for the natural world, while the quieter moments on 'The Coyote and the Valley' represent a mournful eeyrie, bemoaning the sorry state of the Earth. I am certainly going to look for some of this fascinating two-piece's other releases and urge you to follow suit.

England's Livimorket are a slightly different proposition and it's nice to come across a split with two diverse, but equally interesting artists. An ephemeral, wisplike production provides an eerie backdrop to Livimørket's sorrowful black metal/dark ambient hybrid beast. A major point of reference would have to be Paysage D'hiver, a reference I would not throw around lightly, while
the slowed down doom-drenched passages hint at more than a passing respect for the likes of Celestial, Corrupted and Esoteric. The two tracks are entitled 'Crucible of Spirts' I and II and perhaps reflecting the nature of the spirit world, they utilise endless repetition, which coupled with the aforementioned wafer-thin production produces effective results.

As a newcomer to the 9th Meridian label I can safely say that I will be delving deeper into its canon in the coming months, if this storming little release is anything to go by it will be well worth the listening time.




2 comments:

  1. Thanks for the kind words!

    -Chase (from Deafest)

    ReplyDelete
  2. You're entirely welcome. keep up the fine work.

    ReplyDelete