
[Determined to find a rank amongst herd, a ravenous being embarks upon a spirit quest with death metal of the most hazy and harrowing kind. He’s returned more power and potentially ready for ascension. This is his truth.]
Psychedelic death metal, to put it bluntly, lacks a strong definition. Often the genre is aesthetically dependent or rooted in how many Gilmourisms1 the guitarist deploys per solo. No matter how wet the reverb, nor how boomer the bends, these two approaches miss the fundamental underpinning of psychedelic music. Many years ago, as I started exploring the fringes of death metal, Moss Upon the Skull cropped up under that psychedelic tag. From the word go, they floored me with their unique approach to third eye opening death metal. After six long years Moss Upon the Skull wants you again to free your mind and bang your fucking head with Quest for the Secret Fire. Tone might be in the fingers, but the true trip is in the riff.
Unlike other death metal bands who bring psych and prog into the mix, Moss Upon the Skull utilizes a dry, open production style. Drums and bass interplay while the tight-yet-organic guitar cuts through with chugging riffs and searing leads. Even a simple Morbid Angel-inspired riff unexpectedly mutates and carries you through to something groovier, stranger, and more complex. Outside of some tasteful synth additions to reinforce the ambience of slower sections, the majority of track lengths remain uncluttered with studio trickery, with the strength of Moss Upon the Skull’s brand of acid resting on the otherworldly properties of their careful compositions. Quest for the Secret Fire also carries with it a naturally evolving dynamism. Only three minutes into the opening track “Dwelling on Charnal Grounds” the listener has already enjoyed tight chugging, a full throttle ’90s death metal romp, and half-time slinking prog-grooves. Moss Upon the Skull has the incredible ability to feel consistent even as their form morphs in front of you. Cosmic horror presents an impossible figure that breaks the minds of mere mortals; these songs do the same, daring listeners to comprehend their eldritch forms.
Finishing off the record is the beautiful, triumphant, and slower burning title track. While the middle of the record may not have as many stand out moments as the opening and closing segments, the quality remains high. Though Moss Upon the Skull may scatter about more traditional prog-death-isms — clean vocal and flamboyant bass breaks — these outré touches keep an anchor in pure death metal riffs. Had Chuck Schuldiner gotten into eating mushrooms in the woods around Death‘s Human era, this sound may have entered the canon sooner. In another banner year for forward-thinking death metal, Moss Upon the Skull succeeds in its outsider approach, staying grounded even as Quest for Secret Fire swirls maddeningly around you.
- That’s David Gilmour of
Blood IncantationPink Floyd fame. ↩︎