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Wreck of the Hesperus, "The Sunken Threshold"
After their live performances and a brace of self released demo CDs caught my attention, I have been eager to hear this band's debut. The sludgy doom presented here is as good as I was expecting but unfortunately the sound quality of the album leaves a little to be desired, especially for an album that is backed by a label and being properly distributed. That being said, Wreck of the Hesperus have offered up a noble sacrifice at the altar of doom.
Aesthetic Death
The three songs on The Sunken Threshold are at first listen fairly straightforward examples of doom but with repeated exposure, the layers peel back to reveal more and more detail. The song structures are constantly morphing: it sounds like it is all built on the foundation of one or two riffs but subtle variations and changes in the riffing give rise to new tangents and avenues for the band to explore. The production is unfortunately not as sharp as it could be: the oomph of Wreck of the Hesperus' live presence has not been captured successfully. Instead of bowel wrenchingly huge, the album sounds a little thin. The drums in particular feel hollow, especially on "Stop the Black Coffins," where it sounds like the kit is made from cardboard boxes. With the volume cranked the sound does become better but at lower volumes it does not pack the punch it should.
Luckily when "Grave Signal" erupts from the speakers any thoughts of an inferior production are blown out of the window. What it lacks in polishing it more than makes up for with ferocity. Wreck of the Hesperus pick the pace up and take no prisoners. The vocals are drenched in reverb and their black roar drips from song like venom. The unexpected electronics that make an appearance towards the end of the song add a new slant to Wreck of the Hesperus’ sound. When the instruments and vocals begin to be swamped by a glacier of noise and glitch-ridden drones, the tone of the song lowers to new levels of evil.
One thing that I do not like about Wreck of the Hesperus is their use of vocal samples from movies. This has never worked for me, it is a throwback to the mid-'80s to early '90s when every second rate metal and industrial act would include a line from The Wicker Man or some splatter movie. In the past, Wreck of the Hesperus have relied quite heavily on this cliché. Luckily on The Sunken Threshold the samples are kept to a minimum and are not too intrusive and do not detract from the music but I do find them to be an annoyance.
Quibbles aside, The Sunken Threshold is relentlessly brutal. What it lacks in terms of production it makes up for in spirit. Although, in the future I hope they opt for better recording facilities and record the classic album that I know they’re capable of.
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