EREMIT is a doom/sludge metal band from Germany who formed in 2015. "Bearer of Many Names," is their second full length album; they also released an EP. This album continues the story line and picks up where the first album "Carrier Of Weight" ended.  Concept albums don't always shape the ebb and flow of the music but with EREMIT, their story and music go hand in hand. As such, this album is a bit different as story obviously continues to progress.

I feel this is their rawest and most emotional yet. From what I've pieced together so far based on some things the band has spoke about the last few weeks, the Hermit is crawling through darkened tunnels within cliffs. The opening notes of the album are methodical and slow paced, much like what the Hermit would be going thru at this point in time. Just as the darkness is about to take him as he loses himself in disorientation, he is attacked by creatures who tried to eat him. At the 6:10 mark, all hell breaks loose and the album becomes a blackened doom tour de force. This surely snapped the Hermit into action once he was attacked just like it suddenly grabs the listeners attention.  And that's just the first few minutes of "Enshrined in Indissoluble Chains and Enlightened!"

So, as you just read, the music and story line are just perfect for each other. However, they aren't dependent on each other. A listener could not worry about the story line and still get the complete satisfaction of hearing top tier doom/sludge-this is a testament to the song writing prowess of the band. Obviously this album isn't as direct as their ep "Desert of Ghouls" but it is still more riff focused than their debut and finds that balance between a slow build up and forward momentum. In essence, there is a reason why each second of this one hour and six minute long album sounds the way it does.

It had to be very difficult for bands to write music of this length and scope that will satisfying themselves as song crafters while keeping the fans interested but EREMIT pull it off like never before and like few can. The instruments and performances ring as true as the story line. You like your doom with sludge and fuzz?  Eremit have it and they use it when funeral doom length songs. However, this doom isn't stoner fuzz. Rather than making the setting hazy and laid back, the bass/guitar tones add to the ever present mystique and danger to their story line and music. And they ignore the sad and depression of funeral doom. Sure, it has those emotions but they are tools used to further the sound and push it to where it needs to go rather than for a foundation.

The guitar harmonies in the beginning minutes of "Secret Powers Entrenched in an Ancient Artefact" are powerful and add onto a song that is already a multi layered adventure.  At 7:50, the bass and drums take us on another journey. The drummer has immense talent and weight on his shoulders to take such often slow paced and lumbering songs but help make them interesting. He pulls it off as if there was ever doubt of that. The vocalist uses his near inhuman style to up the urgency-his screams are often bone chilling especially the ones around the 12:11 mark. Hear that? Honest and powerful.

"Unmapped Territories of Clans without Names" indeed has a tribal/clan feel to it, the bass, drums and a simple but highly effective guitar riff immediately setting the tone and the mood. The sonic doom fury kicks in around 2:30 and the music hits a run of some of the best thick guitar riffs the band has ever done. It echoes the beginning setting but far far more engrossing and engaging. Around the 1130 mark, the band slows down while also being haunting sorrowful yet still with the sense of discovery as the story unfolds. When the song cuts off I am left exhausted but in a good way. I want more even though this album has so much to offer.

"Bearer of Many Names," is a massive success for both the band and the doom genre. Not only is it a great doom/sludge album but it is also a great album in general. The song structures and lengths make this an album that some people wont understand, even those who are already doom fans. But therein lies the albums charm: if you get, you get an exciting world of endless wonder and the music to back it up. But for those of us who crave this style and the otherworldly places EREMIT's music can take you to, this is THE doom/sludge album to dig into this year.