Being a massive fan of anything demonically sludgy and dark, I was excited to see this new offering from Brazil’s doomy quartet Jupiterian. This is a band who leapt into my field of view with their stunning 2017 release ‘Terraforming’ and then, as is sadly the case, leapt right out again – that is until now.
Combining the filthy, stained perdition that has become synonymous with bands such as Primitive Man with the doomy, hanging funeral doom of Decembre Noir and Arrant Saudade – and then a sprinkling of the murky resplendence of Ahab, and you have ‘Protosapien’. The forlorn guile of opener ‘Homecoming’ sets out a mark that the band consistently overstep for the rest of the record.
Elements of blackened death solemnly creep in through the mesmeric ‘Capricorn’ and the quite brilliant ‘Mere Humans’. Harrowingly deep vocals expel all manner of brittle, disconsolate musings and reverberate around like a couple of tigers in an iron lung. This is splendidly harrowing and excruciatingly absorbing.
Jupiterian have produced a quite sublime record here that balances itself with all the technicality of a fine wine. It takes a primitive form yet festoons itself in an immediacy and a relevance that many fail to adopt. Yet another roaring success from Transcending Obscurity.
9/10
https://jupiterian.bandcamp.com/album/protosapien
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