Taurus - No/Thing
Independent Release - April 1, 2014
By Jason Wick
When you’re a fan of extreme metal you become accustomed to a variety of dark and distorted musical visions. Attempts to convey evil, depression, anger and brutality on a sonic level are the norm. As one consumes enough of this on a regular basis their palate can easily become desensitized to the feelings intended to be brought to the table by the music itself and therefore have a harder time finding material that paints a portrait with as much impact as what one had initially experienced upon first attuning themselves with the genre.
Enter Taurus, a side project from the minds of Stevie Floyd (guitar and vocals of the more known Sludge / Doom act Dark Castle) and Ashley Spungin (Drums and backing vocals for the psychedelic rock act Purple Rhinestone Eagle) both hailing from Portland, Oregon. With their latest release, No/Thing we are offered a musical soundscape that can be aptly described as evil and quite simply, unnerving. These two have affectively rekindled a feeling of unrest in this listener’s stomach. A feeling that has rarely been this intense over the course of the last decade while exploring the offerings of the extreme metal world. It feels so…good.
Consisting of elements of doom, sludge and noise experimentation this record slowly encapsulates the listener in its darkly veiled world. Shrill, indiscernible shrieks spill out from behind a slow cascade flowing from a variety of instruments composed in a simple, yet riveting fashion. Ghastly bellows ooze out from behind meaty, sludge/doom laden riffs, while spoken word / sampled pieces tie the journey together. Open yourself to No/Thing and it’s hard to imagine it not working its way under your skin.
While the records slow crawl may prove to be a hard pill to swallow for some listeners, I cannot recommend it enough to fans of extreme metal, particularly those acquainted with sludge and death/doom. It’s quite simply hard to find metal these days that emits feelings tied to the distraught side of the human condition, mortality, and life itself to the same degree that Taurus pulls off with their release of No/Thing. Come join them on the dark side, the grass is much browner over here.
Official Taurus Facebook
Taurus - No/Thing Bandcamp
Independent Release - April 1, 2014
By Jason Wick
When you’re a fan of extreme metal you become accustomed to a variety of dark and distorted musical visions. Attempts to convey evil, depression, anger and brutality on a sonic level are the norm. As one consumes enough of this on a regular basis their palate can easily become desensitized to the feelings intended to be brought to the table by the music itself and therefore have a harder time finding material that paints a portrait with as much impact as what one had initially experienced upon first attuning themselves with the genre.
Enter Taurus, a side project from the minds of Stevie Floyd (guitar and vocals of the more known Sludge / Doom act Dark Castle) and Ashley Spungin (Drums and backing vocals for the psychedelic rock act Purple Rhinestone Eagle) both hailing from Portland, Oregon. With their latest release, No/Thing we are offered a musical soundscape that can be aptly described as evil and quite simply, unnerving. These two have affectively rekindled a feeling of unrest in this listener’s stomach. A feeling that has rarely been this intense over the course of the last decade while exploring the offerings of the extreme metal world. It feels so…good.
Consisting of elements of doom, sludge and noise experimentation this record slowly encapsulates the listener in its darkly veiled world. Shrill, indiscernible shrieks spill out from behind a slow cascade flowing from a variety of instruments composed in a simple, yet riveting fashion. Ghastly bellows ooze out from behind meaty, sludge/doom laden riffs, while spoken word / sampled pieces tie the journey together. Open yourself to No/Thing and it’s hard to imagine it not working its way under your skin.
While the records slow crawl may prove to be a hard pill to swallow for some listeners, I cannot recommend it enough to fans of extreme metal, particularly those acquainted with sludge and death/doom. It’s quite simply hard to find metal these days that emits feelings tied to the distraught side of the human condition, mortality, and life itself to the same degree that Taurus pulls off with their release of No/Thing. Come join them on the dark side, the grass is much browner over here.
Official Taurus Facebook
Taurus - No/Thing Bandcamp
