Moribund has been in a bit of a slump recently, having to dig up various obscure one man USBM metal projects and re-issue or release some pretty mediocre stuff, so when the oddly titled , Lovecraftian named Brown Jenkins came in my mail box I was a little leery.

The brain child of now sole member Umesh, Brown Jenkins is what Moribund needs for their rather stale recent output; an album to keep fans satiated until Leviathan’s final release-and this fits the bill. Based on Lovecraft’s “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”, the 5 scrawling songs (in a surprisingly brief 36 minutes) on Dagonite are discordant, disturbing slabs of atonal, doomy, yet effective black metal, that’s the best example of this kind of black metal I’ve heard since Blood of The Black Owl.

Truly ritualistic in it’s heaving, other worldy tones and throes, Dagonite sounds like an ancient, many tentacled nameless one playing black metal deep in the void. Not so much suicidal and depressive but as malevolent, unfeeling and horrid as the eyes of Cthulhu. The guitar tone and fits the subject matter perfectly with a subterranean buzz and drone rather than too much grating tremolo, and the steady ever present drums are almost tribally simplistic yet effective, as if summoning some unknown horror.

Vocally, the sparse wails and unintelligible groans of Umesh are all we here in this largely instrumental journey into the mouth of madness, but it’s efficient in littering the trance inducing hues with moments of abstract vocal terror. As with most albums of this style, pointing out single tracks minimizing the overall, paranoia inducing effect of the album, but both opener “Blessed” and closer “Starless” bookend the album with some truly claustrophobic atmosphere, partially because they have more of the wretching groans, that add to the albums already sickening ambience, an ambience that relies on a layered, twisted collage of droning oppressive riffs rather than long moments of silence or FX to carry the sense of dread.

A nice, fitting find for Moribund (I’m actually surpsied Profound Lore didnt release this) and definitely recommended for fans of the current USBM trend and those that wish to take a look into the abyss.

[Visit the band's website]

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