The Morbid World of Heliophage
Here at Doom and Dead we shine a spotlight on small-time doom, drone, and psych acts that deserve more attention. Our favorite release this month came from Canadian doom trio Heliophage.
Occult doom outfit Heliophage hails from Victoria, British Columbia. Their new EP, A Cult of Weird, Horrible People, is a spiritous serving of campy horror with just enough real world suffering to make the songs relatable. A glance at the album notes makes it clear that the band doesn’t take themselves too seriously. Each member is identified with their own malady; schizophrenia for the guitar player, Munchausen syndrome for the bassist, and, of course, Parkinson’s for the drummer. The EP was recorded in a “mold-ridden dungeon” and mixed in an “ivory tower.” Fun (and fungal) references aside, this EP has a diabolical way of getting under your skin. The weighty riffs and heinous melodies are toothsome enough to satisfy even the most discerning doom wizards. So hit play with me, and let’s get this dungeon crawl started.
The intro track, The Sacrifice, sets the mood with B-movie dialogue laid over a bed of fuzz. Bring on the Satanic panic!
Gallows Raised rocks the stockades and rattles your manacles with fuzz-drenched grooves. The song pairs clean vocals with riffs so nasty they’ll turn your eyelids inside out. The lyrics tell the tale of an accused murderer with a monstrous surprise. This jam is sure to get every skull in the oubliette bobbing. Gallows Raised is a raucous good time stacked to the stalactites with heavy riffs, spooky imagery, and an impending sense of dread.
The band slows things down to a crawl with the lumbering tune, Disciple of Death. This vile bass line commandeers the senses, corrupts virgins, and converts the unwary to Heliophage’s black coven. A eely guitar solo reaches out through the darkness, slithering into every hole and crevice it can find. This track is temptation incarnate, a glimmering shard of doom metal in the blackness. Evil can never be fully eradicated, kids. So embrace it and be merry.
One thing I love about this EP is that Heliophage isn’t afraid to mix things up. Thirteen Against One features fast beats and growled vocals straight from the goblin’s den. The band rips through a vicious punk anthem, oozing their dank, mossy doom sensibilities all over it.
The EP closes on Malignant Hydra. This chugging brute explores medical terror and the depths of physical suffering. Dizzying riffs construct a hallucinatory nightmare. Clean and blackened vocals reflect the brutality of bodily destruction. A putrid guitar solo rips through the fabric of reality between life and death. The drum work in the final minute of the song is a thing of terrible beauty.
Fans of Electric Wizard, Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats, and Black Capricorn will find themselves drawn this unholy offering. Ghouls, nerds, devil worshipers, acid freaks, and necromancers of all stripes should also take note. The band claims to have planted a bit of cordyceps fungus in this EP to bend listeners to their will. However, their fiendish plot won’t work on m… m… … yesssss, masters.
