Triptykon

This debut disc from Tom Warrior's post-Celtic Frost band starts out with "Goetia," an 11-minute doom/sludge opus that is, quite simply, unreasonably heavy, both sonically and emotionally. Yes, this is serious stuff, and it never lets up throughout this incredibly oppressive album, which is sure to evoke more than a few comparisons to Frost's excellent Monotheist comeback disc. The album's title means "To my left, the demons," and throughout it sounds like Warrior is attempting to confront said demons, albeit via epic, blackened doom/thrash, which is as good a way as any to combat evil. Once they're halfway through song two, the nearly nine-and-a-half-minute "Abyss within My Soul," any rational demon will throw their arms up in defeat. But it's not all crushingly heavy. "I Shrouds Decayed" features spoken word over some new wave-y guitar work, while "Shrine" is a quiet interlude. "Myopic Empire" brings the piano and female spoken word, and "My Pain" follows it up with urban trip-hop/new wave ambience, again, with female vocals. Pardon my metal cred, but it sounds really good. And don't let the name throw you off — this is exactly what Frost's next album would have sounded like had that band stayed together.