Olde Outlier lives alone.
Born from the ashes of Innsmouth, the band formed by brothers Beau (guitar) and Neil Dyer (drums) recruited Ben Askew (guitar, ex-Grenade), Appleton (vocals), and Greenbank (bass) to create their first album, From Shallow Lives to Shallow Graves.
We start with the jerky but catchy riffing of The Revellers, a track with macabre screams that corroborates its aggressive but relatively simple approach, allowing for a few melodies, notably thanks to a bass line that is sometimes quite soft. A few touches of occult complexity corrupt the progression of the track, creating passages that are almost cheerful but corrupted by screams, but the leads quickly pick up these disturbing notes that excite our minds before a slower passage that leads to the oppressive The Pounding of Hooves and its more direct patterns. The vocals remain as gloomy as ever, adding a smoky touch to an already heavy and impenetrable rhythm that draws us in relentlessly before slowing down noticeably to adopt haunting doom riffs that become almost ritualistic with the choirs. The wild growls resurface sporadically, particularly on the final, which returns to the basic rhythm before adopting the lightness of Swept, which also offers a more refined break and anchors itself once again in doom despite the return of unhealthy saturation, but the frenzied dance resumes in turn and colors the rest of the track with this intoxicating, albeit very spasmodic, veil. The end of the track alternates between samples and moans, then All Is Bright strikes in turn, initially returning to more energetic patterns that allow the vocalist to let loose again, then the ceremonial touches return to ease the minds, developing almost Prog touches that last and eventually close the album.
Although fairly obscure, From Shallow Lives to Shallow Graves offers a multitude of influences, making it much less accessible than a classic Death Metal album. Olde Outlier doesn’t hesitate to incorporate touches of Black, Doom, or Prog into his riffs to create the desired sensation at every moment.
75/100