From Bandcamp, "OWL's ambitious "Geomancy" long player enhances baroque elements of guitar composition while maintaining a defiant, barbed-wire anti-sociality. Ten-minute Prog epics erupt from inspirations bestial as cougar maulings, odes to Earth's continued viability rend consciousness in humanistic terms, and trenchant dual guitar leads." The album has 12 songs, and "Awaken the Mountain" is the first. Fuzzy guitars and a simple riff provide a rocking and energetic sound, somewhere between Doom, Hard Rock, and even Progressive Rock. Much of the song is dissonant, until you come to the harmonized vocals. They are wonderful. "Runes" features some harmonized leads amidst the heavy bottom end, with fluid bass notes. The sound however keeps changing from major to minor chords and back again.

"Minion of the Amethyst Cave" seems to encapsulate the sound pretty well, as in, what the hell are they talking about? The number of twists and turns throughout the song are noteworthy. Again, much of the sound is dissonant, until the chorus, which is also odd, and the vocals don't connect well with the music. "Jupiterian Ocean" is another strange song. I can't quite put my finger on the sound that the band is aiming for. But once it gets going, it becomes clearer. "Ghost Lanes" rumbles with bass in the opening. It turns into another odd song with Progressive leanings in the meter. The band isn't incapable of melody, but they use it sparingly. "A King for Every Mountain" is a ten-minute opus. It's another strange sound, and at this point in the album, it's clear what we are going to get...BLACK SABBATH and RUSH have a baby. They do put together some interesting chord progressions, however, they are a bit hard to follow at times.

"Floating Island" is a little more straightforward, following a linear pattern and with some bluesy guitars. It sounds like a JIMMY HENDRIX song to me. Then riffs are bossier as well. "Shadow of Ehe Catl" is a12-minute beast. It has a bit of everything plus the kitchen sink. The staccato starts and stops remind you that the band have complete control of the meter. It gets strange at the half-way mark, taking on psychedelic moments, but comes back out of the mud with a snarly revenge. The short desert inspired "La Luz Compartida" closes the album, glistening with some Post Rock elements. What a strange trip.

The band seems totally lucid, but the album is just a bit fucked up on psychedelic mind-altering substances. It gets weirder as it moves along. Although I don't really care for the overuse of dissonant tones, their creativity shows strong. This was a unique listening experience that demands the listeners attention, to not miss anything, and a solid listen from start to finish. But in the end, the music was just too strange for the average audience, in my opinion.Purchase Link:

https://owlbrotherhood.bandcamp.com/album/geomancy