Despite the demise of YOB, the spirit of doom continues in Middian.
Mike Scheidt is driven to unleash doom throughout the world. Even as his previous group YOB disintegrated, he started rounding up a new group of acolytes committed to the spirit of Doom and formed Middian. Without missing a beat despite this band switch, he has gifted us with Middian's debut, Age Eternal, less than two years after YOB's phenomenal swansong The Unreal Never Lived. Fans of pummeling guitars and psychedelic atmospheres will rejoice at the over-the-top stoner/doom of Age Eternal. Vocals are secondary, as they should be; rather than dictating the structure of a song, Mike's singing and Will Lindsay's growling are used to complement the impact of the music.
If I were to exaggerate the difference between YOB and Middian, I would say that while YOB's sound is colourful, Middian's is dirty. YOB had dynamics, psychedelia, and hugely enjoyable riffs; Middian have sludge, catharsis, and unrelenting heaviness. When a YOB song descends into chaotic madness, it is an enthralling panorama of colours, when Middian do a similar thing, it is more like a bomb going off in a swamp. What Middian have is emotion: the spine-tingling endings of "Dreamless Eye" or "Blood of Icons" with the sounds of a guitar being mangled underneath the riffs, and the mournful tone of "Age Eternal" are much more powerful than Mike Scheidt's previous work. However, I am exaggerating these differences; YOB are far from emotionless and Middian's music has its fair share of ear candy.
Epic, depressing, and cathartic are all adjectives I would use to describe Middian, and for that reason they sort of remind me of Through Silver In Blood-era Neurosis. They are not imitators, but rather achieve roughly the same atmosphere and end result. Age Eternal's low point is perhaps the finisher "Sink To The Center", which is too long and/or too weird, but it's not awful and certainly does not take away from the majesty of the first four songs. A must for worshipers of all things doom and sludge; slow, heavy, riffs.
| Reviewer: Jeff Mcquiggan Added: November 12th 2007 |
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