Geist & the Sacred Ensemble : "Waning Hymns"

After a month of death metal, I will take some doom folk to cleanse my palate. The emphasis here might be more on doom. The vocals are low moaned baritone, that begins to make me think these guys might be a Swans tribute act in disguise. The way the vocals shift pitch is very Gira. At least his more recent work. They drone is cool. I also like how brooding this is. I love Swans . That means I have mixed emotions. I get the ritual part. That is cool for what it is. Though feels almost like they are trying too hard. Opening you album with an ll minute song is asking a lot from me. But the Swans do it you say. They earned their place showing me they can write all kinds of songs. So what we have here might be a case of sound achieved , now write a song.

I like the wavering melody summoned on the second song. Once again however the vocals are just moaning out notes . I like the fact he is using his voice as a narrative, but Micheal Gira makes it all stick. If you want to be him, you gotta make it stick. Gira knows less is more. He also know when to bring the more. With that said there is a more minimal atmosphere to "Volition". The band claims this is a study of western attention spans. From what I have read on these guys I like the social commentary they might be capable of. If we were given more lyrics to work with then perhaps we might find this coming through. The post rock vibes I am getting from this song are more enjoyable than the first song. It not that I did not like the first song . I just had a lot to sort through in regards to it. "Closed Eye" drones out and I space out.

I was listening to the last song when I looked up and it was back on the first song which was better than I remembered it being the first time. This means two things. 1 - These songs all have a similar throb to them. 2- this album has the potential to grow on me. Though it is more likely I will dry out "the Great Annihilator" when I am in the mood for this sort of thing. I will give this one an 8. It has more depth than most of the stuff out there, but if you are looking for catchy songs keep clicking.