Hewn in monolith to defiance and delivered with stone-faced dread resonance Charlotte, North Carolina-based psychedelic doom metal quartet COSMIC REAPER speak to the throes and woes of existence on this skilled-up sophomore full-length album. They’ve not set aside their drooping lids here entirely but ‘Bleed the Wicked, Drown the Damned‘ noticeably wields a darkened shade of magick via both familiar and streamlined sounds which invoke surrealistic doom metal in recognizable yet personalized shape. Whether you’re looking for hi-fi stoner doom adjacent sounds, the ancient bones of doom, or any manner of despair fitting enough for the present this record does a fine job of elevating towards the supermundane.

Cosmic Reaper formed circa 2017 for the sake of bringing some manner of stoner doom metal to the table a la the Electric Wizard-buzzed Sabbath groove and glassier-eyed dramatism of Windhand, at least that is what I’d heard on their pretty damned average debut EP (‘Demon Dance‘, 2019). They’d gathered some brief notice from the online stoner headspace at the time but their tone and general approach’d changed by the time Heavy Psych Sounds scooped them up for a self-titled debut LP (‘Cosmic Reaper‘, 2020) which’d unfortunately released right on the edge of pandemia. Different vocal textures/studio effects, a handful of slabbed-up riffs, and a few psychedelic blues scratched points of surrealism made for a strange blend of both typical and surprisingly dark tonality on that debut but I dunno if I was itching for more of that swinging-but-nodding biker doom bap when it was through. You’ll no doubt recognize ’em by their tendencies on this new one to some degree but they’ve left behind their more typified fuzzed and bluesy affect for a darker, more severe tone on this follow-up.

For this new album Cosmic Reaper onboard lead guitarist Pete Snasdell who is best known for his rhythm guitar work in notable early 90’s British death/doom metal band Decomposed but don’t get too stoked by this detail as this doesn’t mean they’ve taken on any matter of extreme metal hand. I will say that ‘Bleed the Wicked, Drown the Damned‘ sounds all the more dire, darkened and imposing though thanks to engineering/mixing from Blake Hobson and mastering from Esben Williams who’ve collectively shaped the album’s rhythm section into a beast without torching the requisite pedal-bursting rhythm guitar tone. Extended clarity doesn’t swipe away the grit available to their efforts, though, as evidenced by opener “Hammer” and its slow grind, break and release structured saunter. Upshot leads, gloomed respite, boldened hi-fi sounds, all comes together in speaking to the dread and greater looming threat of doom within this album via its opener and it seems next to no major spark of stoner metal is to be found.

Though the sonic excess and amp-worshipped sound of this thing is damned enough to be a good time the major point of intrigue on my part is the dire endarkened tonality of the release as a whole as it stands in distinct contrast from Cosmic Reaper‘s debut. In the realm of post-‘Let Us Prey‘ stoner gloom this isn’t so uncommon compared to the band’s knack for tuneful guidance within their lumbering reap and that’ll be obviate enough via the already mentioned opener (“Hammer”) and the series of pieces which round out its first half. “Pot of Gold” is probably the song to grip and stare into for some additional nuance, some of their grunge-era severity blossoms from and not only for the remiss vocal drift but some of the more forlorn leads that cut in between. For my own taste Side A was all killer, focused in its escalating unrest ’til “Parasites” acts as the heated nuclear drop to seal their tear outright.

Granted most of these songs follow the same basic structure with some variance in repetitions, movements containing one or two odd-time steps, and generally resolve with a solo within the last minute or so of each. The formula is tried and true stuff and all becomes more apparent within that first half, this is only lightly subverted on Side B. Beyond the three minute Cathedral-worthy psychedelic break of “Dwelling” I’d found “Perfect Organism” was one of the stronger pieces built around vocalist/guitarist Thad Collis‘ doubly effective performances on this album, not just a find bout of harmony within an above-average doom metal song but a piece which upholds the intrigue found within the opening moments of the full listen. I wouldn’t say ‘Bleed the Wicked, Drown the Damned‘ lacks in riffs but when the more densely arranged moments arrive here they really stand out beyond the usual fare. Lining up right next to single/standout jam “Bones” ensures the second half of this record may be even more stacked than the first and really, there isn’t a total flatline or phoned-in scrub amongst the lot.

For an album which comes with a direct recommendation of burning an urn and falling within I’d felt like Cosmic Reaper managed both a lux listening experience -and- an effective wall of dread to hang from at once within ‘Bleed the Wicked, Drown the Damned‘. Their work and general insight gained beyond their debut lands far above average with consideration for the stoner-doom and even just psychedelic doom metal ear though it’d be fair if it all hit as the usual sort of ear in passing. This one’ll be worth checking out per the usual suspects but I’d additional suggest folks interest in traditional doom and have some fringe interest in stoner stuff would do well to check this one out, it hits with serious enough affect to set it apart. A high recommendation.

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