KEY POINTS:
Harald rating: * * * *
Label: Southern Lord/Rhythmethod
Verdict: Get your doomed ambient dirge on
Everything about Om is minimal, from the name, to the line-up(bassist/singer Al Cisneros and drummer Chris Hakius from stoner-drone metallers Sleep), to the sparse dissonance and blunt thuds of the four tracks on their third album.
But the songs are epic - the longest clocks in at 11 minutes - and increase in intensity but they never reach a climax, which creates a menacing and unsettling mood. And the tense atmosphere is pronounced even more by producer Steve Albini's steely and raw approach.
The opening title track is a 10-minute musical chant which acts as a meditative precursor to the down-tuned dirge and trippy grind of Unitive Knowledge of the Godhead and the slow bashing onslaught of Bhima's Theme, which has a beautiful mid-song interlude that actually sounds like it could have been recorded in an ancient Hindu temple.
It's bleak, suffocating and bone-crushingly good making Pilgrimage best suited to fans of ambient doomsters like Sunn 0))) and Japanese trio Boris, both of whom are on Om's record label, and the more patient and sensitive metallers among us. Just make sure you play it loud and after dark.
