ALBUM REVIEW: Stygian Bough Vol. I – Bell Witch & Aerial Ruin

Over the last decade, BELL WITCH have risen from obscurity to become foremost in their style.  Playing with the unconventional line-up of bassist (Dylan Desmond) and drummer (Jesse Shriebman), their darkly pensive brand of doom metal reached its fullest expression on Mirror Reaper: an album unsurpassed in scale, conjuring an atmosphere of haunting absence which enraptured its audience. While less widely known, AERIAL RUIN is no less revered. The solo-project of Erik Moggridge has brought an acoustic salve to the heavy music scene with a series of self-released dark folk albums, exploring a spiritual perspective stemming from the loss of self. While Stygian Bough Vol. I is the first official collaboration between the two projects, Moggridge is effectively BELL WITCH’s third member, having made guest appearances on every album to date and contributing significantly to the second half of Mirror Reaper. While they sound very different both BELL WITCH and AERIAL RUIN share an affinity for crafting solemn atmospheres, and with their proven creative compatibility, Stygian Bough promises to be an interesting venture for both projects as they are brought into full alignment for the first time.

The album takes half of its name from Sir James Frazer’s seminal comparative study of religion and mythology, The Golden Bough. The book’s name is itself based on the Rex Nemorensis myth which, inspired some of the themes of the album. The King of Nemi was a title given to the guardian of the grove of Diana, located in the Arician hills. This priest or ‘king’ is given his title by slaying the incumbent priest there, in a trial by combat. Challengers were runaway slaves, or otherwise desperate men, who sought sanctuary in the grove: in order to make their challenge, however, they would first have to take a golden bough from a tree in the grove.

Attaining the priesthood there was precarious however, since in effect one would accept being ritually murdered. That myth dovetails with Moggridge’s point of departure in writing the lyrics, which recalls the first BELL WITCH album and the song Rows (Of Endless Waves). In that song the ghost of a king is trapped on the sea – possibly an analogue of the River Styx (hence ‘Stygian’) – between the shores of life and death. Both the ghost of the king and the priest are in purgatorial positions of power, and Stygian Bough proceeds from here.

Stygian Bough Vol. I is divided into three twenty-minute movements: The Bastard Wind, Heaven Torn Low, and The Unbodied Air. There is a definite emotive trajectory to each movement, and to the album as a whole. BELL WITCH and AERIAL RUIN have carefully synthesised elements of both projects in making the album; this is collaboration in the fullest sense of the word. BELL WITCH plays up-tempo from their usual funereal pace, which allows melodies to manifest themselves more overtly. While the deep rumble of reverberant bass is omnipresent, Desmond experiments with some higher-register playing, which is accentuated by the familiar purr of the Sunn Model T.

Shriebman’s drumming feels much less reserved, lending more than just a rhythmic backbone to the album, which is a welcome reprieve from the measured restraint of Mirror Reaper. He also makes contributions on piano and organ, providing some textural variety to arrangements dominated by the bass and guitar. Moggridge’s wistful vocals sit comfortably on top of the dense guitars, without sounding forced or lapsing into the harsh bellowing typical of the style. His contribution to the guitar work shouldn’t be understated, either; the familiar lilt of the steel-strung acoustic guitar guides mellower passages, while his electric guitar playing makes judicious use of effects to lend some depth to the album’s heavier moments. Despite its length, at every moment there is a sense of something steadily building, a destination in sight. Repetitions are nuanced with slight variations, and plateaus feel assuredly climactic. The production, which was handled by Randal Dunn, balances clarity and texture competently without sounding especially polished.

Stygian Bough Vol. I is a masterpiece. Together BELL WITCH and AERIAL RUIN have managed to create an album of vast atmospheres and immaculate contrast. Light and dark tones are interwoven and blended in order to render Stygian Bough Vol. I’s grand themes: the boundary between life and death, the corrupting quality of power, humanity’s domination of the earth, etc. This is doom metal on an entirely new level of sophistication, and the continuation of a longstanding and fruitful collaboration between two of the most exciting projects in the Pacific Northwest – let’s hope there is more yet to come.

Rating: 10/10

Stygian Bough Volume 1 is set for release on June 26th via Profound Lore.

Like BELL WITCH and AERIAL RUIN on Facebook.