Southampton, U.K. doom trio
MOSS will release its new album,
"Horrible Night", on April 2 via
Rise Above Records. Recorded during the summer and autumn of 2012 at Hampshire's
Earth Terminal and London's
Earthworks studios, the CD is the sound of
MOSS emerging from its cocoon a much more savage, intelligent and all the more terrifying beast. While no longer obsessed with extremity for its own sake — with weirdly infectious riffs, eccentric vocal melodies and no song over 12 minutes —
MOSS remain heavier-than-thou, broadening their horror beyond any imposed "scene" expectations. This mastery of the craft is evident from the opening moments of first track,
"Horrible Nights"; written back in 2010, it sets the course for the album, taking the twisting death-crawl of
MOSS mini-epics such as
"Tombs of the Blind Drugged" and administering a lethal dose of addictive melody, cooked up by the colossal riffs of
Dominic Finbow and the
Ozzy-via-seance vocalizations of
Olly Pearson. Cuts such as
"The Coral of Chaos" and
"Dark Lady" expand further upon this potent formula, dragging the
BLACK SABBATH blueprint to its most nightmarish conclusion and ushering
MOSS further into their newest dark age.
With six tracks,
MOSS proves more than ever why this English cult band is regarded exactly as such. While still no easy pill to swallow for the uninitiated, over its duration,
"Horrible Night" will demand complete mind control. Nonsense prefixes such as "stoner", "sludge" or "drone" do not apply here; this is pure doom metal, a celebration of horror, the arcane and the unknown.
Although traditionally a reluctant live act, in 2013
MOSS is set to embark on its first European headline tour, as well as make a return trip to Holland's
Roadburn festival.
Said
MOSS: "We wanted to write something that would stand up over time… No disrespect to our earlier recordings, we feel the essence and atmosphere of those is still very much with us, but they were of a time and place that we're no longer part of."
"Horrible Night" track listing:
01.
Horrible Nights02.
The Bleeding Years03.
Dark Lady04.
Dreams from the Depths05.
The Coral of Chaos06.
I Saw Them That Night
