Miles Davis earned his “Prince of Darkness” title for a good reason. Much of his 70s output comprised of highly evocative black-magic funk jams, such the cavernous and demonic-sounding voodoo psychedelia of Bitches Brew. There was an odd kind of heaviness about those releases, a dark density pervading them all. It is evident on Ample Fire Within that Messrs. Greg Anderson and Gentry Densley have been taking cues: the record is laden with 70s-esque psychedelia, from the music itself right down to the cover art which is a self-confessed homage to the album art of the golden era of jazz-fusion and psychedelic rock from which Ample Fire Within draws much of its influence.

Here, what they have done is essentially fuse these influences with the trademark Southern Lord doom sound. We should know what to expect: gargantuan, downright evil-sounding riffs, monolithic drones and piercing squeals of feedback. And, to be fair, it has all of these in fair doses, but it also has more. Devil trombones, ripping guitar solos, creepy percussion and dark Chick Corea-esque keys are just some of the musical delights contributed by the star-studded plethora of guests that includes Kim Thayil, Steve Moore, Bubba Dupree and Randall Dunn. Densley’s vocals are especially of note as a somewhat unique aspect of the album – his gruff singing is especially noticeable on the Waits-on-ketamine blues dirge ‘Divine’ and the bizarre Melvins-esque plodder ‘V.O.G.’, replete with pounding tribal drums and eerie samples that give the feeling of being in the middle of a jungle full of all sorts of horrible beasts lurking in the shadows. All these quirky elements help separate Ample Fire Within from the rest of the pack and stop it from becoming Yet Another Doom Album.

It almost works. Some tracks often verge on transporting you somewhere else, building up an atmosphere that unfortunately loses its grip on the listener just as it tries to take its hold. ‘V.O.G’ and ‘Dark Matter’, for example, come particularly close but just fall short of having a complete chokehold on the victim of their sonic bludgeoning. It’s a shame, really, because there are so many interesting ideas here, but one feels, especially given the cast here, that these ideas could be executed a lot more powerfully if Anderson and company really tried. Its experimentalism fails to reach the colossal heights of other memorable drone landmarks, such as Sunn O))) and Boris’ ‘Altar’, but nevertheless remains interesting enough. For those wanting to hear a doom metal album that strays from the well-worn path, this is worth investigating.

- Ned Chambers