From Bandcamp, “BOREHEAD are an Instrumental Doom Metal Trio based in London, UK. Blending spacey, psychedelic blues with slow heavy riffs. Their jams are made up of weird scales, odd time signatures, and punctuated with spoken-word samples for a trance-inducing, otherworldly experience. “Vita est Morte est Vita” is the band’s debut full-length; recorded, mixed, and mastered by Wayne Adams at Bear Bites Horse Studio, London. The four tracks of the album are a dynamic and richly textured journey through the human psyche – inviting the listener to Discover, Enter, Understand, and Become.”

The album has four songs, and “Estate” is first. Those opening notes are right on…talk about a trance…this song will surely place you in one. A riff eventually comes forward, and it is tinged with melancholy sounds. Listen to that crescendo that the band builds…it’s quite compelling. “Circadian” is a near-fourteen-minute beast, opening with a low and powerful riff that seems to come up from underneath you. It moves forward slowly, towing a heavy anchor along with it, and the fuzz from the riff reverberates all sound you. The bass notes are impossibly weighted, giving the song a thick bottom, along with drum strikes that seem to rattle your soul.

“Zoonosis” is nearly as long, and it begins with spoken words and thick, meaty bass notes. Drums and a psychedelic riff ease in, teasing the shadowy corners of your mind. Then, the heavy riff leaves an indelible mark, pushing the earth beneath you further and further down. “Macadamia” closes the four-track album, beginning with another thick slab of bass guitar, and the weight of the main riff drops like a bomb on the earth, leaving behind a massive crater. Then, the song begins a steady march, fueled by psychedelic sounds in the background. Each weighted strike puts the listener in more and more of a trance, until what comes out of the other side is barely recognizable.

This was an excellent album, and who said Doom Metal can’t be exciting? The album uses subtle textures to subvert the listener slowly, but deliberately, and each note brings you closer and closer to the end. What lies beyond? It’s hard to imagine, but if you open the door, a world of possibilities is out there.