ANCIENT VVISDOM Deathlike (2013) CD

Satanic folk filtered through Nashville murder ballads and New Orleans funeral dirt. Ancient VVisdom arrived fully formed from Austin, Texas with a sound that made doom purists and dark rock obsessives drop everything, acoustic strings draped over ritualistic dread like a hex you can't shake.

Deathlike, their 2013 follow-up, leans harder into the hard rock and death rock vein, Nathan Opposition's voice carrying all the weight of a man who's stared down the void and decided to write songs about it instead of blinking. If you've been living in DOOL's cathedral reverb or Bloody Hammers' crypt-rock groove, this belongs in the same shelf. Dark aesthetic, genuine occult atmosphere, no irony.

CD, 2013 release, USA pressing.

Fans of: DOOL, Bloody Hammers, Lord Vicar, Alunah, Lord Mantis