CONAN

CONAN “Evidence of Immortality”

By Dr. Abner Mality

As dark as a Stygian priest’s heart and as relentless as Cimmerian steel, CONAN returns and doesn’t yield an inch when it comes to their brutish sludge doom. Actually, the Brits have doubled down on their trademark sound and have come up with the heaviest record of their career. This record is so low-tuned and bass-heavy that it sinks to the center of the Earth.

The ridiculously basic mammoth plod of “A Cleaved Head No Longer Plots” kicks things off. Ten minutes of crushing sludge in CONAN tradition, with those odd patented dual high-low vocals chiming in. “Levitation Hoax” and “Ritual of Anonymity” kick up the pace to a gallop, with the latter song nearing death metal speed and being one of the band’s shortest tracks.. But the atmosphere of bottom-heavy doom prevails even on these faster efforts.

“Equilibrium of Mankind” has such a burly lope to its riffing, you can almost feel the arrogant swagger. Amazingly catchy despite its heaviness. “Righteous Alliance” follows in much the same fashion before the album ends with the colossal funeral doom of “Grief Sequence”, where icy synths mix with monotonous repeated pounding to create a feeling of utter gloom. This last one goes 14 minutes plus and is a very hard slog to get through...it will test your will!

“Evidence of Immortality” doesn’t change the CONAN method, but instead seems to amplify it, making things heavier and more merciless. This band is just as brutal as its namesake.

NAPALM RECORDS

CONAN