ALBUM REVIEW: Existential Void Guardian – Conan
Fittingly enough considering their moniker, through sheer force of will and strength of arms ‘caveman battle doom’ crew CONAN have risen to become titans of the doom metal scene. Revered by fans and other bands alike, the trio born of frontman Jon Davis’ desire to play heavy and slow have conquered their way across the globe, buoyed on the backs of dedicated work ethic and maul heavy riffing.
Over a decade on from their first demo, the mighty Battle In The Swamp, it’s strange to think that Existential Void Guardian is only CONAN‘s fourth full length release. But they’ve been no sleeping giants since 2007; a slew of splits, demos, EPs, and live albums litter the battlefield in their wake. With a slightly more solid line up in place (Chris Fielding has handled the low end since 2014, with new sticksman Johnny King joining back in 2017) revolving around Davis’ creative core, Existential Void Guardian has both hardened veterans and new blood behind it.
Opener Prosper On The Path hisses in with static before pounding chords and huge, rumbling chords muscle their way in over lances of whining feedback. Classic CONAN, the swampy riff conjures image of a trudging beast of burden as primal drums churn and clatter beneath. Davis‘ scalded, tortured screams phase in, fully realised into his best vocal turn to date. King makes his mark with quick, punchy fills as the riffs alternate between charging forward and clawing its way upwards. Dropping into a spacious, tension building riff that grows and coalesces into a breathless drive that begs to be fist-pumped along to with its staccato vocal barks. This is a carefully constructed, tightly structured five minutes that is the slickest CONAN have sounded thus far; a shard of pitch black obsidian honed to its keenest killing edge.
Eye To Eye rips into a scything, uptempo riff from the start, proving the band have only doubled down on the turns of speed they flexed their muscles with on 2016’s Revengeance. The mid-song break for scuzzy bass grooves and fractal cymbal work shows the trio can still surprise, and the track tumbles into a chasm of grinding tone, strident vocals and shuddering feedback. If Eye To Eye wasn’t enough of a shock to the system, Paincantation comes entirely out of nowhere, a rampant squall of tumbling blasteats, jarring guitars and aggro-noise.
Amidst The Infinite rings with thick chords that shift like granite on granite, lumbering lines locking in tight with burly kicks as Davis’ and Fielding’s dual vocal attack of growl ‘n’ shriek is unleashed. A slow bloomer, there’s a rare skitter in both the spiralling guitars and Davis’ layered vocals of melody held captive before the track slows and buckles under its own weight. Volt Thrower is explosive, angular and restless, like a tranquilised MASTODON riff.
Vexxagon broods and roils with bottom dredging chug, Davis asking ‘is this the end of things?’ before answering his own question with a mudslide of thick instrumental layers. Cymbals sneak and squirm through gaps in the slablike chords, kicks stutter beneath crushing, tectonically shifting chords as Fielding bellows into the hostile void. Eternal Silent Legend snakes along moodily with a shifting drum groove and fuzzy bass, brimming over with tension and nervous energy only heightened by the feedback creep. A huge pick slide brings it all crashing down into a mire of pulsing kick drums, guttural grunts and ringing doom chords. When the massive, dense chug section rains down, it’s as if CONAN were seeking to answer Giles Corey’s requests for ‘more weight’ using riffs alone.
If these seven cuts weren’t enough, the album rounds off with a selection of live recorded CONAN classics, from the sprawling Satsumo to the neck ruining Hawk As Weapon. They’re a nice inclusion, a harken back to where the CONAN tale began and livid proof that Existential Void Guardian captures a band at the height of their powers.
Rating: 8/10
Existential Void Guardian is set for release September 14th via Napalm Records.
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