Who said artwork matters nothing in music? I’d say it’s an essential part of an album, so seeing such special packaging and artwork adorning Wreck of the Hesperus’ second album Light Rotting Out brings a smile on my face: an A5 sized cardboard outlook that has four individual cards inside carrying the lyrics and additional information. Talk about good first impressions.
The music itself - ugly and filthy funeral doom - leaves nobody cold either. Always slow and dragging, Wreck of the Hesperus still manages to keep the listener at his toes, never knowing what might appear from the rotting mud of Light Rotting Out. This album does not dwell in melancholy or anything along those lines, no, this is just creepy and disgusting menace. The starter ”Kill Monument”, clocking at eight minutes, is just a taste of what’s to come on the more intriguing ”Cess Pit People” that features some higher-pitched guitary melody-like therein, yet always sounding chaotic and, well, just ugly. ”The Holy Rheum” lasts for over twenty minutes and is the highlight of the album, including an appearance of Albert Witchfinder on the latter half of the song or, in other words, part 2 of the song, ”Hologram Law”.
Vocals gnarl, bass guitar grunts, and the drummer, one of the best feature on the disc, rampages very impressively over his kit - he always seems to have something going on, like between the accented hits he batters the hell out of his toms. Also, the cellar-like production is spot on on an album of this kind. In the end, Light Rotting Out leaves a positive taste, but it also evokes a feeling of lacking, as the compositions aren’t that otherworldly in the end. It never sucks, but neither it is really memorable I’m afraid, even if the overall sound and atmosphere deserves full points. For an occasional dwelling in filthy funeral doom soundscapes, Light Rotting Out is an undisputed choice, but it doesn’t rise to the thrilling levels of excitement of, say, Stabat Mater debut from a couple of years back.
The music itself - ugly and filthy funeral doom - leaves nobody cold either. Always slow and dragging, Wreck of the Hesperus still manages to keep the listener at his toes, never knowing what might appear from the rotting mud of Light Rotting Out. This album does not dwell in melancholy or anything along those lines, no, this is just creepy and disgusting menace. The starter ”Kill Monument”, clocking at eight minutes, is just a taste of what’s to come on the more intriguing ”Cess Pit People” that features some higher-pitched guitary melody-like therein, yet always sounding chaotic and, well, just ugly. ”The Holy Rheum” lasts for over twenty minutes and is the highlight of the album, including an appearance of Albert Witchfinder on the latter half of the song or, in other words, part 2 of the song, ”Hologram Law”.
Vocals gnarl, bass guitar grunts, and the drummer, one of the best feature on the disc, rampages very impressively over his kit - he always seems to have something going on, like between the accented hits he batters the hell out of his toms. Also, the cellar-like production is spot on on an album of this kind. In the end, Light Rotting Out leaves a positive taste, but it also evokes a feeling of lacking, as the compositions aren’t that otherworldly in the end. It never sucks, but neither it is really memorable I’m afraid, even if the overall sound and atmosphere deserves full points. For an occasional dwelling in filthy funeral doom soundscapes, Light Rotting Out is an undisputed choice, but it doesn’t rise to the thrilling levels of excitement of, say, Stabat Mater debut from a couple of years back.
3.5 / 5
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