Album Review: Usnea

Random Cosmic Violence (Relapse)

[DOOM METAL] On its self-released debut, Usnea offered a psychedelic nightmare of twisted riffage and effects abuse that set the band a comfortable parsec apart from the Portland metal pack. Sophomore albums can be nerve-wracking to compose, though, particularly for a big-time label such as Relapse. With Random Cosmic Violence, Usnea chose to adhere to its own formula. Four songs take just under an hour to unravel. The members trade vocal duties, with bassist Joel Williams providing the deep cleans of opening track "Lying in Ruin," a paean against the folly of religion, while guitarist Justin Cory takes the lead on "Healing Through Death" with shrieks that recall an animal caught in a trap. From there, it's just more bleak, misanthropic metal, tempered by a few quiet interludes and a thesaurus-worth of minimalist gothic lyricism and hopelessness. The album's title track describes our insignificance in appropriately cosmic terms: "Sights seen in new dimensions/ Matter crushed to quantum beginnings/ Parties shifted, planes upended/ At the edge you see no ending." In the end, though, this album is a small step for Usnea, not a giant leap.

SEE IT: Usnea plays White Owl Social Club, 1305 SE 8th Ave., with Lord Dying and Cold Blue Mountain, on Saturday, Dec. 13. 8 pm. Free. 21+.

WWeek 2015

Nathan Carson

Nathan Carson has been a WW contributor since 2008. He also writes weird horror and science fiction stories, and is a founding member of the international touring doom metal band Witch Mountain. Carson owns and operates the boutique music booking agency Nanotear, and hosts the XRAY FM radio show the Heavy Metal Sewing Circle. The only reason he can do all these things is because he drinks a lot of water and gets plenty of sleep.

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