Artist: Psalm
Title: In Darkness… Have Mercy
Type: EP
Label: Digital
So here is a doom band I sadly knew nothing about. Psalm. Now let me just get this out of the way (and it will seem odd but bear with me). I am an old (in years and time spent) doom fan but this means I was about when the definition was different from what the word conjures today. It was bands like Pentagram, Trouble, Saint Vitus, The Gates Of Slumber, Wall Of Sleep, Reverend Bizarre et al. But also you must be very careful that none of this at all means that a huge amount of what is now termed doom is not utterly fantastic. Because it is. Green Lung, Sergeant Thunderhoof… big fan. So what flavour doom is this?
Apparently hailing from Las Vegas Psalm are a three piece (always a cool thing) and they kinda got me hooked straight off. The first minute or so of opener ‘Misery’ is about the truest bit of doom I’ve heard in an age; downtuned, slow riff, bass flapping in the wind and that determined, grinding onwards feel. Then it skips a beat and the groove hits but hard and we’re off into that glorious stoner doom vibe full on. It’s a wonderful and dirty sound, grit in the riff, drive in the drums catchy as all hell. And the vocals are just so on point; clean, clear, a real live feel to them. It has hooks and a freshness I love. It’s an excellent introduction; Psalm, how do you do!
‘Messiah’ is a sparse and plodding opening and then a gnarly, slow rises. The clear, cool vocals and the turn of the melody weirdly reminds me of some older grunge styles, outliers like Mindfunk around People Who Fell From The Sky. Not much, true, but enough to turn my head. Again these vocals from band leader and bassist Jon Torres are just superb; they wring the emotion and the sense of almost resignation from the words. And when they go for it, the guitars of Carlos Martinez just plough through and pull the song with him in glorious fashion, Ian Henneforth cranking up the gears and that perfect three piece engine just surges away.
‘Value The Suffering’ is another little delight as it does indeed hark back to that original doom sound, no groove no good time, just the grim reality in its eyes. Slow, raw and yet still somehow defiant it puts one chord in front of another refusing to give in. Now that makes me smile so much. It finds a little pace and it hits hard, too. This is more Pentagram Trouble and Saint Vitus on speed than grooving along the stoner route. Very nice.
‘Blessed Are The Cursed’ again pretty much eschews the stoner route; a jagged, sharp song with a bitter riff and clattering bass, time changes and that wonderful sense that the engine is held together by wire and tape but they’re damned if its going to fall apart. That feel of teetering on the edge of collapse and yet driving on is just wonderful to hear.
Yeah, this was a refreshing EP for me. The production is raw and has that live feel but I wouldn’t change a bit of it; it showcases a band who are gonna sound like that in your face, on stage, and sound bloody great. Psalm can do the groove doom too, rock out like bastards which is just cool as, but they also know the actual heart of where the word doom comes from in music and that is also something that makes my old heart smile. They have feet and hands in both fine camps like a musical game of Twister. But that would mean nothing without the songwriting chops and Psalm have that nailed already.
Give them a serious go; stoner doom, traditional doom, whatever your flavour Psalm have something for you.
Gizmo
https://psalm666.bandcamp.com/album/in-darkness-have-mercy
And my thanks to Kyle at Good Boy PR for the review copy. This one got me!
Walking The Liminal Space 