מזמור - Cairn REVIEW

When asking people what they think metal sounds like, most would probably respond with 'noisy', 'fast', and above all, 'screaming'. If they knew virtually nothing about the genre, they would most likely provide examples such as Metallica, Iron Maiden, and Black Sabbath, and to their credit, they could give worse answers. However, some may be able to identify some "deeper" bands. As someone who entered this lifestyle with Tool, my own expectations regarding metal and its subgenres have changed drastically. With the knowledge I have now, I can posit what is and isn't metal, genre stereotypes, and can even identify some terminology. Yet consistently, these expectations are still broken. Sometimes, pinning down a particular genre for certain projects seems difficult. מזמור (Mizmor) is a band that exemplifies this struggle. While 'Funeral Doom' is perhaps the easy tag to bestow, the strong black metal influences and elements of drone are ever-present throughout this record. So as Cairn had me stumped in this regard, I decided to jump back and listen to this one-man project's 2016 release, Yodh. With the prominence of aggressiveness on that LP, I started to piece together what A.L.N. was trying to accomplish on these projects. While I haven't yet listened to this artist's self-titled debut, it seems that מזמור is all about exploration.

Trudging through the desert, grasping at the back of your neck as the blistering sun slowly melts the skin on your behind, you look up and see a gigantic hooded figure holding a massive pyramid with dazzling bolts of colored lightning dancing about inside. The robed giant slowly stands and raises his lanky, smoky arm. A boned finger points downward, and as you stare down, there lies an endless pit, spitting with fire spouts and magma jets that nearly reach your feet. To reach the other side, you must jump. This picture is Cairn. A monolithic, slow and intense slog, מזמור's junior release is the epitome of plodding. While occasionally breaking into intense black metal bouts, the majority of this nearly hour-long trek is distorted, protracted and weighty. The album art is apt, as the desert imagery and the lyrics of the first track, "Desert of Absurdity" showcase a vibe greatly resembling Sleep's Dopesmoker in atmosphere and guitar tone. Though lyrics about cannabis and Biblical references are replaced with those about nihilism and apostasy, the fuzzy guitar licks and long song lengths feel extremely 'stoner'-esque. 

Another entrancing aspect of this release is the droning sections, such as the ~9-minute mark of "Cairn to God", where inspiration is clearly drawn from artists like Hell and Sunn O))). However, these unabashed moments of reminiscence are merely small aspects of the wedges in place to support the solid foundation מזמור has created. Shortly after this droning section on "Cairn to God" a slogging clean melody is played as A.L.N. screams about losing his faith. A tremolo guitar rises from the wading recesses, and a euphoric feeling encases the track entirely. An inhaled whistle scream (one of the many superb elements to this band) is heard, and the drums fade with a black metal riff. Left with merely the same lead line we had before, a 2-minute plus serenade eases us out of this desert, where this journey is complete. This song shows the stark dynamic differences that A.L.N. is able to pack into each one of these four tracks. From long droning guitar walls to brutal blast beats and tremolo picking, he channels both extremes of the metal spectrum seamlessly, which is difficult to pull off and even harder to master.

Each song on this album also does a fantastic job at storytelling. While not the typical heroes' journey or rags to riches tale, each one of Cairn's songs is meticulously written to have a distinct beginning, middle, and end. Obviously, this is true for most pieces, but songs like "Cairn to God" and "Cairn to Suicide" whisk the listener through a stunningly full overarching experience, similar to any concept album. This must have been the intention of A.L.N., as each of the 4 songs occupies one side of the original 2LP pressing of Cairn. While some, including myself, would claim the necessity to listen to discs all the way through, Cairn can be listened to in bits and pieces; Each one of its four parts has their own distinct narrative, that is something I don't often notice in my music listening. I generally prefer to have an underlying premise or "no blatant meaning" at all when consuming verse, so this was an interesting experience to hear while listening to this release.

It is hard to pinpoint anything wrong with Cairn. Sure, it's long, but by taking this trek, one should know what they are getting yourself into. It's harsh, heavy, grueling and even belligerent at some points, but it never stops being what it wants to be; which is a spine ripping test of patience that, at its core, is an extremely well written and performed Blackened Funeral Doom album that is sure to tickle any extreme music listener's fancy. A.L.N. is testing your endurance on this release. While Yodh might be more inclined to those who want things to move quickly (even though it is four minutes longer than this release), Cairn cements מזמור as a mainstay in the modern heavy music underground, with at least two critical darlings of releases under his belt. Let's hope that the next one comes quick.

Final Score: Bask In The Lingering

Favorite Songs: "Cairn to God", "Cairn to Suicide"

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You can support מזמור on their Bandcamp

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Authorial anecdote! PMMetalGuide will be at The Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge MA on Sunday, September 29th to see מזמור/Hell/Churchburn live! If you're in the area, come to say hello and enjoy some awesome music!