Deathstench "Massed in Black Shadow" cd

Deathstench

Massed in Black Shadow

Black Plague Productions

So a band called Deathstench on a label called Black Plague productions is not exactly going for subtly. This is heavy, dark, heavy, heavy, dark, dark metallic drone. This may sound like a criticism but almost the entire record sounds like the Sunn0))) track Cursed Realms (of the Winterdemons). I mean almost every track on this record sounds directly influenced by not only Sunn0))) but that track in particular. It's not bad, in fact it's my favorite Sunn0))) track on my favorite Sunn0))) album. So in a way that is very good. It's not the most inventive or varied album though, which are two things I look for pretty often. Although halfway through this cd you do get a track that has some blasting, blackened drums. I would love to hear more of that. God damn, this is fucking dark. If you are a fan of Sunn0))) or better yet, the criminally underrated and unheard Ardent Vein, you are going to dig this. 

     The art is pretty cool, in that silly metal way. Skulls, candles and portals to blasphemous dimensions are all on the cover. There are six more panels of that. It's pretty cool drawings but my real issue with the layout is how the text is handled. It's just center aligned (mostly) and all the type has that annoying black stroke around it. Actually some of it is actually transparent as well. I would love to see some better typography here.

It's musical strengths outweigh it's typographic failings.