"Dronescaper Thomas Watkiss has produced several albums of excellent dark metallic drift and post-industrial heaviness both under his own name as well as with the ambient dronemetal band Whote. With this 7", we get two sides of crushing black drone from Watkiss in solo mode, and the results are fantastic.
On "Ancestor (Part I)", molten black distortion pours in over low resonant bass tones and distant reverberations of struck metal echoing across a subterranean dronescape. Waves of oceanic hiss crash over the bell-like tolling amid swirling black winds, and the sound becomes intensely heavy and oppressive, a massive rumbling, tectonic ambience joined later on by gargantuan thunder from sheet metal vibrations and massively distorted low-end, resembling a much more industrial Sunn O))) or Black Boned Angel.
"Southern Venom / Trail" starts with eerie extended synth tones and synthetic strings stretched into infinity above a starless black expanse, and are joined by slow-moving distorted guitar that drifts in glazed with heavy echo and reverb, drifting through the abyssal blackness almost like a Neurosis riff transposed over Yen Pox like ambience. It fades off after a few minutes, and changes into more minimal ambience flecked with soft bat-like shrieks of feedback and liquid black bass tones swirling among rhythmic scrapes and low grinding sounds. The dark metallic drones of Ancestor are comparable to an even darker and more desolate take on the guitar ambience of Troum, an impressive set of tracks that fans of heavy stygian drift should definitely check out." - Crucial Blast |
