Five The Hierophant

OVER PHLEGETHON

DARK ESSENCE BRITISH AVANT-INSTRUMENTALISTS INVITE YOU TO TAKE A LEAP OF FAITH This multi-instrumental avant assault owes as much to the jazz fusion of Mahavishnu Orchestra as it does to the doom metal powering its permanent heft. Queen Over Phlegethon’s sharp, percussive groove is the start of a trip through shimmering, psychedelic environs. Der

Geist Der Stets Verneint is a carnivalesque nightmare, rewarding your perseverance with the record’s apocalyptically swaggering highpoint. It’s a rare spike of coherent energy amid multi-layered, diffuse atmospheres, paying off on a potential you may feel the band are yet to fully fulfil. On Omen Tree the album’s ritualistic atmosphere takes centre stage – a conclusion that leaves you unsure as to whether Five The Hierophant have led you to the spiritual revelation they promised or tricked you into a labyrinthine purgatory. 7

FOR FANS OF: ALUK TODOLO, ORANSSI PAZUZU, EPHEL DUATH

TOM O’BOYLE