(Independent) Though The Sundering Seas’ first EP, God of a Thousand Forms, consists of only one single 14-minute track, members Chase Oumet, Tiler Kuykendall, Justin Doom and Ross White make every second count to build a crushingly cold sound that’s equal parts doom, death and black metal. Aside from the band’s name—a reference to Tolkien’s Middle-earth—and album title—a nickname of Nyarlathotep from Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos—the EP avoids ever venturing into any obvious sword-and-sorcery fantasy themes. Instead, a parallel to narrative world-building exists through this thoughtfully crafted atmospheric landscape. Lyrical yearnings for non-existence are mirrored by tones that feel icy, burdened and harsh. God of a Thousand Forms begins lurching forward with an isolated, circling bass line before introducing layers of interlocking ideas. Periodically obliterated into frenzied blast beats, the song collapses into a weary, trudging melody but bares its teeth once again before it’s all over. Even staring into the void at its pitch-black darkest, this is a beautifully written album that’s seductive in its nihilism. In traditional black metal fashion, the EP has been released on cassette as the ninth installment of the Shadebeast Noir Series.
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