Why is it that pretty much all deserts on album covers are orange? The mighty influence of the sands of Arizona or virtual visits to the worms of Dune, perhaps. Or again, a subconscious submission to all those Hollywoodian fantasy shenanigans that happened to crawl across our screens over the years. Or is orange the color of the grim reaper? We got three of them right here on the artwork after all. I guess we’ll never know for sure.
What we do know, however, is that Dust Prophet not only chose their dystopian album cover well, but also their style that perfectly fits the theme. One Last Look Upon the Sky waltzes straight into that old-style Doom Metal territory, a place that the folks over at Black Sabbath, Electric Wizard, or – again – Pale Divine like to haunt. All of the above comes with an often astonishingly barebone and heavily downturned, gothically-tainted stoner note high on an abundance of fuzz.
And that talks to the undeniably chthonian atmosphere that this album freely disperses. Ominous musings about the imminent and surely fiery end of the world. All of that terrible goodness is fueled by the poem of Paradise Lost1 (John Milton), some Gothic writings, and – behold – the infamous apocalypse. Armageddon on steroids in fifty shades of filthy orange. There you go.
When The Axe Falls – track number two – will already give you a pretty good idea of where OLLUtS takes ye. Lines like – and I quote – “…the air is all but gone from here, the end is near, your flesh will burn…” truly describe the essence of the piece. Gothic musings delivered on an avalanche of fuzzy Stoner Metal. Grim, dreary, and bleak – genuine raw doom that we should have more of from the top dogs of the genre. Yet here, it’s brought to us by a band that doesn’t even have an entry in the metal archives at the time of writing this review.
It’s also interesting to see that the band increases power levels a bit later. The starkly rustic track Dear Mrs. Budd serves as a pretty good example in that department. And interestingly, as the record wallows down the tracklist, the overall feel gets ever more psychedelic. Or could it be that the messaging turns more desperate, too? Maybe. But whatever the case may be, the subtle change in tone is pretty masterfully done. And this also manifests itself in the use of some rasps at the end of the record.
Now, not all is perfect here either, of course. OLLUtS often meanders a bit too much about its apocalyptic and grimy soundscapes. As has often been the case over time, a good clipping of all that fat hanging about the arrangement might have worked wonders (Song 4, for instance). And no, smoking dope to pass the time better won’t work here, we’re not in the ’70s anymore. In addition, the drumming sits a bit too front center in the mix. To add insult to injury, the band’s choice of the snare almost led to a St. Anger attack2 over here.
Ultimately though, One Last Look Upon the Sky is yet again living proof that a sturdy theme will drive quality. Dust Prophet sent us a trve doom piece full of (hopefully potential) tribulation, delivered seemingly directly by three scythe bearers. All of that depressed misery roars in on an oldish Doom Metal setting that bears memories of long-gone times when fuzzy rock was all the rage. An insanely rich piece that will need your undivided attention over a few listening sessions. Take this from one who has been there.
Cool record. We’ll be looking for more.
Ed’s note: More orange dust? Try Sons of Arrakis.
Record Rating: 6/10 | Label: Self-Released | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 27 January 2023