Review by Ben for Thergothon - Stream From the Heavens (1994)

Extremely raw yet pioneering funeral doom metal both crushingly slow and beautiful.

There are often arguments regarding who exactly was the granddaddy of each metal genre. Was Bathory really the main instigator of black metal or were Venom the ones to kick it off? Should Death be considered the pioneer of death metal or did Possessed beat them to the punch? But when it comes to funeral doom metal, there's never any doubt that Thergothon were the instigators. Their debut EP was released in 1991 and the only band I can come up with that even remotely resembled this insanely and destructively slow doom metal would be Winter, whose 1990 release Into Darkness can certainly be considered an influence here, if not exactly funeral doom metal. The fact that it took Thergothon 3 years to follow up Fhtagn nagh Yog-Sothoth with a full-length album and yet no other band followed in their footsteps in between, shows how far ahead of the pack Thergothon were.

But rather than focus on how important Stream From the Heavens is historically, I've spent the last couple of weeks finding out just how good it is. The production is bad, but I can't say it lessens the experience at all. The guitars are for the most part just a buzz of distortion. The drums are kind of distant and murky, as are the growling vocals. But then occasionally some other sound will filter through (such as the beautiful acoustic guitar on The Unknown Kadath in the Cold Waste) and the effect is damn blissful. While the band tend to plod along in an extremely down-tuned abyss for most of the album, there are little melodies and clean vocals that transcend the darkness without ever letting go of the truly despondent atmosphere. It's pure funeral doom metal the way many bands still play it today and a great listen 15 years later after its conception.

Even though I obviously have a lot of praise for the album, I'm not going to give it full marks. I think funeral doom has taken further steps since and bands such as Skepticism, Esoteric and Shape of Despair have exceeded this initial blueprint in terms of production and song writing. But I will always be thankful for any band that helped to put this wonderful style of music on the map and find Stream From the Heavens to be a satisfying listen in its own right. Highlight tracks are Everlasting, Yet the Watchers Guard, The Unknown Kadath in the Cold Waste and Who Rides the Astral Wings. I see Peaceville has reissued this important relic once again this year, so it seems likely to remain the underground treasure that it is for a long time yet.