ALBUM REVIEW: Casting The Circle – High Priestess

The Californian psychedelic doom trio HIGH PRIESTESS may not be a name that many fans of the genre are currently familiar with, but that is sure to change at some point soon. Releasing their debut demo back in 2017 and quickly following it up the following year with their eponymous debut album, they quickly established themselves as one of the more impressive underground acts within their native L.A, combining dense doom trappings with gorgeous harmonies and a heady atmosphere. Their latest album, Casting The Circle, is arguably their best and most eclectic output to date, and could very well see them rise to the forefront of the international doom scene.

The album starts with Casting The Circle, which has some great, haunting guitars and percussion that immediately give this song an atmospheric, ritualistic feel that immediately draws the listener in. Soaring vocals further add to this songs beguiling sound, complementing the music perfectly. It’s a brilliantly captivating way to start the record, and lays down some fantastic foundations for the rest of the record.

Erebus takes the hazy ambience of the previous track and adds in lots of psychedelic flavour, with fuzzy guitar tones, steady drumming and grandiose vocals making for an incredibly engrossing sound. It’s an excellent, slow burning piece of music that adopts heavier tones and chunkier riffs as it progresses, resulting in a monolithic song that it’s hard not to love. The Hourglass is a dark and immersive slab of stoner doom with a few hints of occult rock thrown into the mix for good measure. It’s got a much weightier sound to it, that manages to inject a lot of variety into the album, with a wider range of guitar sound and vocal deliveries, giving this particular song a slightly more adventurous approach that cements it as one of the records stand out offerings.

Invocation, at close to seventeen and a half minutes in length, is the album’s most ambitious number, and in spite of its daunting running time, it works extremely well. The song is a melting pot of all HIGH PRIESTESS‘ myriad of influences, and really sees the psychedelic side of the band’s sound reach its apex, something that makes this a very interesting and hypnotic listen. It also features some of the catchiest vocals on the record, with great, singalong lyrics that embed themselves in the listeners mind from the very first listen. It’s fantastic from start to finish, and stands as its crowning achievement. Ave Satanas, in stark contrast with the sprawling epic that preceded it, is a brief yet brilliant piece of music that makes full use of some amazing, layered vocals and plenty of atmosphere to build a massive and impressive sound. There’s no other elements within this songs sound, but it works very well, bringing the album to a close on a dark and bombastic note.

Casting The Circle is a massive step up in quality from HIGH PRIESTESS‘ debut record, both in terms of musicianship and production, with the resulting five tracks proving to be incredibly immersive and, at various points, stunning. Every song on this album is a stand out in its own right, with even the weaker offerings being good enough to be album highlights for many other bands. The blend of various musical elements, all shrouded in a murky and palpable ambience, makes the vast majority of this album’s music extremely engrossing and memorable, making this arguably one of the better offerings within the genre in recent memory.

Rating: 9/10

Casting The Circle is out now via Ripple Music.

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