ALBUM REVIEW: Evidence of Immortality – Conan
Liverpool’s finest pioneers of barbaric caveman battle doom CONAN have returned to give the world another swift, sonic beating with their crushing brand of doom. Following up their acclaimed 2018 full-length, Existential Void Guardian with an equally skull splitting edition to their already monstrous discography is a challenge the band embraced with open arms. Evidence Of Immortality is a cavernous beast frothing at the mouth to rip, tear and devour your carcass, offal and all. With monolithic riffs threatening to tear the molecule matter of the earth, CONAN the undisputed British kings of slow heaviness waste no time in re-establishing their dominance over the UK doom scene.
Relentlessly merciless in its approach, Evidence Of Immortality is a barbaric and brutal album. With down tuned guitars, cranked pedals and ruthless distortion, huge rumbling chords clash with beefy, muscular riffs to create a cacophony of sonic destruction. The aggressive, beastly nature of Evidence Of Immortality looms large, like the foreboding black shadow cast by feral warrior that takes no prisoners. If there is one thing that CONAN have mastered it is the art writing songs that fire up the imagination with images of apocalyptic dread alongside an intense atmosphere that penetrates the centre of your being. With this in mind, the shrieking shouts for blood and battle that bellow out of the mouth of Jon Davis once again send shivers down your spine. There is also a puncher element that becomes apparent as you listen to the album, which only adds to the band’s ruthless aggression.
Evidence Of Immortality sounds bigger, looms larger and hits harder than anything that the band have previously released. The synchronicity that transcends the album is a key reason why the album has so much weight behind it, alongside a groove that is created out of the impulses of battle rage. Effortless tempo shifts accentuate this, transitioning between up-tempo stoner riffing and riffs so deep that the gravitational pull they create pulls you into the screaming black void, like the to and fro of locked in shield walls. There is no where for you to escape the sonic bombardment as the long, tempestuous, distorted rumbles reverberate through your soul.
Whilst CONAN do not deviate too far from their established sound, there are moments of genius amongst the chaos. This mainly applies to the fourteen minute funeral dirge Grief In Sequence, the mostly instrumental track slowly builds in funeral doom fashion as big droned chords dissipate as a sustained organ guides them into the abyss. As the track progresses the chord progression sounds darkly angelic and it offers a moment of reflection as the tortured souls of warriors laying dead and dying on the battlefield haunt your and the rivers run red. It fades out with nightmarish swirling flangers and you’re left to recover from your experience.
Ripping open the fabric of your speakers, Evidence Of Immorality is brought to life by its epic opening ten minute track A Cleaved Head No Longer Plots. With the colossal power of the first chord body feels as though it has been blindsided by a truck. Levitation Hex drastically ups the tempo, with uncommon blast beats and bruising grooves, you see a different side to Conan as it proves they can beat you in a fast or slow tempo, it’s your choice. Ritual Of Anonymity is a more traditional doom sounding track, shifting between hulking grooves and more up-tempo stoner sections, the effortless shift between the two gives the song punchy flow as the band utilise their synchronicity to pack the fatal blows. Equilibrium Of Mankind follows a similar sort of template, giving a surge of punk infused pace amongst the fuzz and distortion of the hulking doom riffs. Righteous Alliance doubles down on the heavy doom riffs, creating an intense and unforgiving atmosphere that sounds like the end of a battle and the black sorcery of ravens and vultures comes into play as they pick at the carrion.
As the smells of barbaric battle waft into your nostrils, the grotesque, contorted heads of enemies stand tall on blood soaked pikes, on this grim mound of death and decay CONAN deliver Evidence Of Immortality, a battle din that would shake the gates of hell off of its hinges. Laying waste to us puny mortals in the process. It is another hulking beast of an album from the UK’s finest.
Rating: 9/10
Evidence Of Immortality is set for release on August 19th via Napalm Records.
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