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This is the spawn of chaos itself. It's sinister. It's madness. Above all else, it is a tempest of unrelenting fury. The album art speaks for itself and this really breaks the typical black-death mold.
Favorite track: Continuously Assaulted by Spirits.
From NOCTURNAL BLOOD mastermind Ghastly Apparition (aka THP-SOH) comes his most intense and personal project yet: THE HAUNTING PRESENCE and their brand-new, self-titled 12" MLP. THE HAUNTING PRESENCE have steadily perfected their churning, coruscating craft over the course of a debut demo, a subsequent EP, a split with MUKNAL, and recently featured on the recent Black Twilight Circle compilation. Now, with The Haunting Presence MLP, the band truly comes into its own, exhibiting a hideous, ghoulish intensity that's far removed from now-typical "bestial metal" cliche whilst utilizing similar rudiments. Throbbing with gutted low-end and grinding string, THE HAUNTING PRESENCE here explode into black-holed oblivion across the record's six sinister tracks, prominently displaying THP-SOH's truly possessed ululations, particularly his now-patented (and quite insane) vocal intros.
For black/death metal that deviates from the standard template, it's not surprising that THP-SOH takes a unique lyrical approach. In his own words, THE HAUNTING PRESENCE "strictly is a representation and demonstration of my paranoia, perversions, madness, psychological understandings, connection with negative feelings/thoughts, the energy being produced through these meditations, sounds and words. These songs and words are more or less representing my meditations, dreams/nightmares - sleep paralysis, lucid, out of body, etc - horror, the supernatural/higher existence, sleep deprivation, fears, and concern for the modern world.
An amazing record. I am really glad to run into the band as the music is nothing like anything I had listened to before. Great music and overall worth playing at least once a week orangeblitz47
Five years on, and this is still the absolute gold standard for doom infused death metal. Would love a followup or even a vinyl repress. Amanda Kauffman