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Subrosa: No help for the mighty ones

28/04/11 || Khlysty

Profound Lore Records has become a force to be reckoned with during the last few years. Always eclectic and envelope-pushing, the label has managed as of late to create a coterie of bands that manage to be heavy as all-fuck, creative, experimental and head-scratchingly left-brained at the same time. And, if one needs proof positive that Profound Lore offers some of the most interesting music nowadays, Subrosa is the perfect place to start.

Coming out of Salt Lake City, Subrosa creates a psychedelic swirl of stoned-out guitars, pop sensibilities, folkish elements and indie rock swagger that’s magical as it is expansive and all-consuming. If anyone though that a gangbang between Kyuss, Velvet Underground, P.J. Harvey and Cracker would be an interesting thing to happen, well, Subrosa answers to what the outcome of this endeavor would be. Or, as the band itself puts it: Subrosa = PJ Harvey + Kyuss + Appalachian murder ballads + Coven

The band mixes and matches perfectly its influences, creating a sound that, while firmly entrenched into doomy crushing power chords, encompasses an abundance of other, more “exotic” elements, like a very prominent electric violin, which flies in, out and about the monolithic riffs, or like clean, powerful and theatrical vocals from Rebecca Vernon, Sarah Pendleton and Kim Pack. What has stricken me the most is how fucking heavy the songs are: the music, while always melodic and clearly-defined, has a harsh, crushing quality that aims equally to the body and the mind of the listener.

The longish songs sprawl in a satisfactory manner, allowing the band to explore each and every of its influences, while always keeping things slow, sludgy and doomy, creating strata of sound that are as heavy as they are enchanting and beautiful. And here lies the secret of Subrosa: the band’s ability to create beauty through the harshest means possible; super-distorted guitars, treated violins, rumbling bass, smashing drums and female vocals that, while generally melodic, don’t fear to move towards banshee screaming, if needs be. And, while on the matter of vocals, the a cappella dark country ballad “House Carpenter” is one of the most harrowing performances I have listened to since, oh, Mark Lanegan’s scary rendition of Leadbelly’s “Where did you sleep last night”.

I could try and give you more details about “No Help for the Mighty Ones”, but I won’t. I will only tell you two more things and then I’m gone. One is that the latin expression “sub rosa” is used to denote confidentiality and that’s exactly what Subrosa does: they confide to the listener secrets that most metal bands cannot even begin to think about. The second thing is that this record is a spiritual experience as much as it is a piece of music. I won’t guarantee that everyone will like it, but if you give it time, you’ll be surprised at how many disparate things can harmoniously co-exist in a basically doom metal record. One of the best of 2011.

8,5

Information
Released: 2011
Label: Profound Lore Records
Website: www.subrosaonline.com
Band
Rebecca Vernon: guitar, vocals
Sarah Pendleton: electric violin, vocals
Kim Pack: electric violin, vocals
Dave “The Deuce” Jones: bass
Zachary Hatsis: drums

Tracklist
01. Borrowed Time, Borrowed Eyes
02. Beneath The Crown
03. Stonecarver
04. The Inheritance
05. Attack on Golden Mountain
06. Whippoorwill
07. House Carpenter
08. Dark Country

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