Bog Body - Cryonic Crevasse Cult (2022)^{Release ID: 37088}

As anyone who is remotely familiar with my ramblings will tell you, I am always partial to some filthy, cavernous, Autopsy-style death doom, so I had some decent expectations for this, Bog Body's debut album. Alas these expectations were just castles in the sky as the reality is not as great as the premise, which is putrid death doom that rejects six-stringers and let's the four-stringed beast lead the way, plumbing new depths of cavernousness. The truth is that the lack of lead guitar means zero riffs, thus robbing the tracks of the requisite heft that doom metal demands and replacing it with a muted rumbling that doesn't truly pack much of a punch at all. Add to that the muted drum sound and the distant-sounding vocals and you have a death doom release that lacks any sort of presence and just flutters about at the periphery of your attention, coming off like a glorified basement demo. The two guys from Bog Body can count themselves rather fortunate to have scored interest from a major metal label such as Profound Lore, especially with the huge number of unsigned acts in the current crowded metal scene.

Cryonic Crevasse Cult is not a complete loss as a couple of tracks generate some interest, Ice Stained Kurgan and the title track for example, but generally, even for me, it was a bit of a slog and seemed much longer than it's actual 33 minutes run time. The sad thing is that with a decent guitarist, comfortable in the Asphyx/Autopsy style they would have a decent LP on their hands.

Whenever I see a new Death Doom Metal album to listen to, I generally get quite excited. It hasn't been an amazing year for the subgenre so far. There have been a few strong offerings, particularly from Druid Lord, Tzompantli and Epitaphe, but at this point it feels like I might be scraping the bottom of the barrel to produce any sort of top 10 Death Doom releases at the end of the year. I was therefore eager to get into this Body Body release. That eagerness quickly turned to bewilderment though, as I soon realised that this release has zero guitar riffs. You read that correctly! There are no guitars on this doom album, with the two band members playing drums and bass respectively, while sharing vocal duties. Once I got passed this initial surprise, I decided to make a big effort with Cryonic Crevasse Cult, putting aside my doubts and giving the album every chance to impress me. Sadly, it hasn't.

With no traditional riffs, the bass definitely holds a much more important position than on most doom albums, which is why the fuzzy and somewhat distant production the instrument gets is so strange. The vocals are also weak, leaving it up to the drums to really hold my attention. They're mildly enjoyable, but the overall result is weak and, it has to be said, just boring. I can't help wondering why a label would pick up a band / album like this. It's certainly not terrible, but it does sound like a demo from two mates laying down some tracks in the hope of attracting a guitar player. I recommend avoiding this one.

2022 RANKING (53 releases so far)

51. Mnima - Disciples of Excremental Liturgies - 2 stars

52. Bog Body - Cryonic Crevasse Cult - 2 stars

53. Owls Woods Graves - Secret Spies of the Horned Patrician - 2 stars

2022 DOOM RANKING (14 releases so far)

12. Hangman's Chair - A Longer - 3.5 stars

13. Mizmor - Wit's End - 2.5 stars

14. Bog Body - Cryonic Crevasse Cult - 2 stars