Saturday 29 February 2020

Bible Black Tyrant - Encased In Iron (Album Review)


Release date: February 28th 2020. Label: Argonauta Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Encased In Iron - Tracklisting

1.A Snowflake of Death's Denial 05:48
2.Valorous 04:11
3.Panic Inducer 06:57
4.Infinite Stages of Grief 03:01
5.Sickening Thrum 05:50

Members

Aaron D.C. Edge: Guitar / Bass / Cello / Midi / Vocals
Tyler Smith: Drum Kit

Review

Encased In Iron is the 2nd release from Doom/Sludge Metal Duo – Bible Black Tyrant. A band which features members from bands such as LUMBAR and EAGLE TWIN. So that should tell you the calibre of musicians and bleak heavy grooves on what to expect on this album. Aaron D.C. Edge and Tyler Smith make up this bleak sounding unit and this is a much stronger follow-up than their 2018 debut album which I’m a huge fan of.

The band soon find their mission and rhythm on the excellent opening song – A Snowflake Of Death’s Denial – and it’s a gloomy nightmarish sound that allows Bible Black Tyrant to unleash their blend of Progressive Doom/Sludge/Blackened Post-Metal sounds that do sound eerie familiar to their other bands but with a dangerous vibe to them. Aaron’s vocals are “hellish” in tone and nature with the riffs striking the right balance of bleak sounds with elements of Post-Doom sounds appearing here and there.

Second song – Valorous – takes a more caustic approach to their music whilst retaining the bleak heavy atmosphere heard on the opening song but the band start adding some groovier aspects to their music which sounds quite unsettling at times but also offers a few moments of modern sounding Psychedelic Stoner Metal that also appeared on their debut album. The song adds church bells to mix which I didn’t expect and it was quite unsettling to hear especially in the overall context of the song.

Encased In Iron carry on their bleak and hard-hitting narrative on the rest of the album with pitch-black vocals and grooves leading the way and showcasing why Aaron and Tyler are quite highly thought of within the Doom/Sludge Metal community.

The other standout songs on the album are: Panic Inducer and Sickening Thrum which perhaps bring the most fearful and brutally sounding riffs on the album.

If you’re a fan of Eagle Twin and LUMBAR then Bible Black Tyrant is the place where you need to be and perhaps this album. As it’s a more focused record compared to their debut album with a lot more daring ideas despite it’s 26 minute short running time.

Encased In Iron is a fearless statement of intent from Bible Black Tyrant and takes no prisoners with it’s uncompromising blend of Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal.

Awesome stuff….

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Mona at All Noir PR for the promo. Encased In Iron is available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Argonauta Records now.

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