Within their unlit silent crypt there’d inhabit a row of hideous decapitated heads, each hanging loose-mouthed for their hubris and presented as a lineage of those who’d tasked themselves after power above all else. He who sought to topple would inevitably become the tyrant they’d pursued per the ongoing thematic journey of this atmospheric doom metal collaboration between Pacific northwest-based artists BELL WITCH and AERIAL RUIN as they reach a new milestone for their unique fusion within this second full-length album. For the sake of not being a one-off collab by tangentially related fellowes ‘Stygian Bough: Volume II‘ gains some real ground here in terms eerily connective songcraft per the exaggerative atmospheric/funeral doom metal format and acts which reflect the cohesion of the trio’s different yet complimentary tendencies. While they’ve achieved another profound result in the realm of stylized sombre muse once again the real draw here is the extreme yet approachable forms cast, a level of dynamically rich and occasionally challenging gesture which should carry broad appeal.

Although Bell Witch has been around since 2010 and had already proven notable per a couple of full-lengths in the early-to-mid 2010’s most folks hadn’t fully locked into their ambitions until after much of their atmospheric sludge attuned beginnings were sidelined for the ~83 minute hymnal opus that was ‘Mirror Reaper‘ back in 2017. Upon review I’d had nothing short of praise for their work citing the emotional impact of it alongside appreciation for the eerie, unreal quality of their minimal yet kinda post-metallic approach to funeral doom. It was such a success that it only made sense to continue pulling at that thread yet it’d be several years before they’d begin to sketch together a sequel, or, a higher concept to move forward with. In the meantime they’d clearly gotten wind that frequent collaboration with guitarist/vocalist Erik Moggridge (ex-Epidemic) over the years had served one of the biggest moments on ‘Mirror Reaper‘, it only made sense to intensify that collaboration and thusly the ‘Stygian Bough‘ series would serve as a direct collaboration with Aerial Ruin.

Their first collaborative work (‘Stygian Bough: Volume I‘, 2020) was written with the intent to both compliment and enrobe the intentionally solitary, acoustic neofolk/folk rock style of Moggridge‘s project and in the process both signatures were forced out of their safely lost, meandering visions toward a more active channel. Still, the basis of their work clearly had their collective successes with ‘Mirror Reaper‘ in mind, it had worked before when generating hymnal funeral doom and per their interviews for the album the collaboration’d almost come across like a series of business meetings in creation of sombre tapestry… all six hands guiding the same loom, weaving their own contributions into the greater drone afforded. The contrast of their admixture with Aerial Ruin wasn’t perfect and I don’t know if it made for the sort of album the average doom metal fan would reach for when in need of quick fix, obviously not, but it was a different shaft of light compared to what Bell Witch‘d conjured soon after. That continues to be true with ‘Stygian Bough: Volume II‘ in the sense that there is yet a challenging thread to follow into coherence though this time around it appears the trio have fused deeper into their own glom, nearly eliminating the sharper contrasting textures of the previous volume.

You can see the dust settling back down in the room as ‘Stygian Bough: Volume II‘ may very well have fused their efforts into singular voice this time around yet grand washes of space are given time to mingle in-air, such as the extended frothing lilt which creates a chasm through the middle of “King of the Wood”. The lumbering slow fall of opener “Waves Become the Sky” may flow into that second piece with a big riff but the solemn pause beyond the fifth minute or so feels entirely different from the restless trade-off of ideas found on ‘Stygian Bough: Volume I‘ where there’d been more uncertainty where to place guitars in the context of Bell Witch‘s gig. The dissociative, grinding malaise which becomes the focal point of the final third of the piece only adds to the feeling that they’ve pushed further out on a limb with this material than expected while breathing deeper between movements.

Coherence of form, the reveal of shapes be they riffs or melodies or both, is particularly key to the most defining forms of funeral doom metal and though nowadays Bell Witch not a riff band in that sense but via this Stygian Bough alliance the aforementioned opener does bear a sort of Mournful Congregation-esque threading of lead guitars which help guide the listener into the foaming sea of the riff. There is more guidance of this sort on this second volume than the first, particularly via the eventual excitement of “From Dominion Let Them Bleed”, and as such it should prove less of a full-on oceanic “adventure”, something less vexing in statement and potentially further away from funeral doom’s empyreal detachment. Each song here instead reads as contained, less quickly finagled into shape, and this grants a sort of traditional doom skeleton to their tragedian scenery of (perhaps deserved) collapse and ruination in cycle. This should (if not briefly) ring in ear for the listener within certain portions of ~19 minute closer “The Told and the Leadened” where the whole of the song approaches the unreal bluster of ‘Nightfall‘-era Candlemass if excised into droning half-speed vignette.

If neo-funeral doom metal doesn’t require a taxing, anti-musical experimental distance from rhythmic norms it should at least feature some manner of emotional extreme guiding its heartbeat and in this way Bell Witch and Aerial Ruin do successfully manage both narrative and immersive connectivity. There are a few shining moments on ‘Stygian Bough: Volume II‘ which speak to disruptive, avant-garde pull though their well-thought themes and intentionally stamped shaping of these four pieces aren’t challenging so much as accomplished in their conjoined illustrative hand. They are making beautiful music together so to speak and while I’m not sure that is what I want from funeral doom-adjacency it doesn’t at all hurt to sink within their latest portal and find such repeatable structures. Though it will require some patience beyond the norm to absorb this is perhaps the most palatably crafted muse from these collaborators to date. A high recommendation.

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