Release Date: September 20th 2024. Record Label: Desert Records. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl
Legends of the Desert: Volume 4 featuring Eagle Twin & The Otolith - Track Listing:
1. Eagle Twin - Horn Vs. Halo 11:39 video
2. Eagle Twin - Qasida of The Dark Doves 08:28
3. The Otolith - Crossway 08:53
4. The Otolith - Phosphene Dream 10:49
Review
Legends of the Desert: Volume 4 is the next exciting installment from Desert Records series of joint albums this time featuring Eagle Twin & The Otolith. This chapter sees both bands bring their own stylish and acclaimed take of Drone, Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal that’s quite different to each other. Both sets of tracks from each band lasts around twenty minutes with Eagle Twin being up first with their two tracks of Horn VS Halo and Qasida Of The Dark Doves.
Eagle Twin have been playing their down-tuned slice of Droned Out Americana since 2007 across acclaimed multiple releases and this sees the band get straight down to business of laying down pulsating progressive leaning Droned Out Fuzzed Up Sounds with their gruff trademark vocals to match.
Their two tracks are the heaviest of the split and personally my favourite part of the album. As it has a heavy sludgy monolithic beat throughout both tracks where the music is vividly melodic with the down-tuned aggressive pastures that results in heavy destructive grooves with quite an organic delivery as well.
The Psychedelic Fuzzy Instrumental passages have a more dramatic Post-Metal sound compared to their previous releases but it’s the grizzled and gruffy vocals that is quintessential Eagle Twin territory and overlapping instrumental passages with a mighty air of distorted progressive metal holding everything together.
I have to admit that Qasida Of The Dark Doves has a more straightforward riff-centric style from Eagle Twin for the most part and I loved the screeching guitars that has similar themes to bands such as The Melvins and Mastodon in places but this is still classic EAGLE TWIN through and through.
Up next is The Otolith and they are more than capable for the challenge by delivering their own sublime tracks of Atmospheric Doom/Stoner Metal based folklore which has a more experimental delivery compared to Eagle Twin. I was blown away by their 2022 debut album Folium Limina and their two offerings of Crossway and Phosphene Dream carries on with a similar vivid sound with more emphasis on the folkier aspects of their lyrics with a brilliantly intense vocal performance from everyone involved.
The interplay between the sludgy instrumental sounds and traditional instruments such as Violin and Piano is a joy to behold that appears within Crossway leaving me quite dumbfounded once again at how spectacularly heavy The Otolith can be whilst bringing a Classical Music element to their overall sound. There are echoes of Drone and Ambient delivery within the hidden Post-Rock flow which allows their music to have a more dramatic and progressive feeling compared to Eagle Twin.
Legends of the Desert: Volume 4 is going from strength-to-strength with each passing release but this is perhaps their heaviest and finest release to date with two bands at the top of their creative powers. This is forty one minutes of Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal perfection which showcases two highly different bands to each other but delivering a split record of the highest order.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Desert Bloom PR for the promo.
Legends of the Desert: Volume 4 is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Desert Records.
Eagle Twin Links
Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram
The Otolith Links
Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram
