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Obscure Fire

by Megalith Levitation

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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Megalith Levitation - Obscure Fire CD
    Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    6 panel digipak CD with 16 pages booklet. Released by Aesthetic Death
    www.aestheticdeath.com
    Limited to 300 copies

    Includes unlimited streaming of Obscure Fire via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

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  • Megalith Levitation — Obscure Fire Tape
    Cassette + Digital Album

    8 pannel limited edition tape. Released by Звуки Карачуна (Sounds Of Karachun).
    Art by www.instagram.com/godlikeikons/

    Includes unlimited streaming of Obscure Fire via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Sold Out

1.
Obscure Fire 08:59
I will be your guiding, ever-burning fire With spiral flames I will Create new world of illusions And ancient mysteries Will rise from diamond tombs Burning through the granite walls of enslaved consciousness Petrified borders of mind Smashed by whips of dying suns So take this chemical keys To see their sepulchral light
2.
Of Silence 10:17
I walk the forest in the moonlight Whistle through my chattery teeth Stalking behind me ten feet tall Good Prince Silence Mercy, I tremble, dare not turn Mercy, I tremble, dare not turn, And dare not gaze up, up to the moon: One false movement, one needless sound Good Prince Silence Would step on me and tread me down
3.
Descending 02:24
The one who looks into the abyss Will go blind The one who casts the shadows Will lose borders The Earth is breathing The tower cracks Eternal Emperor Descending…
4.
The heavens were extinguished By the oceans of blood The ancient vaults Broke up into diamonds My restless mind Illuminates the abyss With madness and fire Of the halo crown I fall from tower That I have built But veil of night Has tied me tightly Quicksilver mirrors Have captured my dreams In the hoary mist Of the obscure light So bright, so horrid dream That night I saw… delightfully The smoke with odor of burning herbs It leads me to the starlight depths
5.
Orphans of death Stepsons of life Doomed to wander In the cells of time Their burning souls Are open to midnight And only sleepers Hear their songs Their mournful path Lies through the wastelands Through the parched Lands of self-exclusion Grievously… Like gutless puppets In pitch-dark silence For the voice of doom They slowly follow Obediently…

about

smart url ⟹ band.link/a645

A new plunge into the bottomless depths with Megalith Levitation. The band delves deeper into psychedelic experimentation, infusing their songs with even more ritualistic trance. Join the low-frequency mass and light the hidden fire inside — Obscure Fire.
doomedandstoned.com premiere by Billy Goate:
"When we last checked in with the hooded cadre from the Ural Mountains of Chelyabinsk Oblast, MEGALITH LEVITATION had just revealed their collection of Void Psalms (one of Doomed & Stoned’s Heavy Best of 2021, reviewed here). Now two years hence, the mysterious cult speak once again.

Their third full-length is called ‘Obscure Fire’ (2023). My closest stream of consciousness is an archaic reference to “strange fire” in the Old Testament. “And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not.” Whether these songs lay claim to the profane offering of Leviticus 10:1 we may never know, but what is certain is their dark, powerful, hypnotic atmosphere.

The album begins and ends in flames. Strange dissonant guitar strains emerge from opening track “Obscure Fire.” It’s a bit jarring at first, but we’re quickly captured under its spell. Drums and bass join in a dirge, and cultic voices bellow while the solemn ritual proceeds, complete with the swaying hands of acolytes and damning riffage.

With spiral flames I will
Create new world of illusions
And ancient mysteries
Will rise from diamond tombs

This bleeds into the anodyne strumming “Of Silence.” The song’s central riff surfaces four minutes in and worshipful voices consort. The heartbeat quickens at the seven-minute mark and things start to feel deadly amidst unsettling tremeloes and pulsating rhythm. By the end of the song, we’re lost in the throes of sweet delirium.

“Descending” bathes us in a swirl of ancient fuzz, as we enter the passageway connecting Side A to Side B. The theme is laid out in painstaking fashion, while priests cantillate in darkness around a cauldron of spite. It’s as if we’re gradually being slowly lowered into a great well as voices echo above and beneath the pit.

As we enter “In The Depths” we enter a clandestine chapel far, far underground, lit with candles and an odd glowing ember in the center, a place of arcane magick. A Cathedralesque tempo dances us closer and closer to the flames. Around four-minutes, the band shifts into slow headbanging mode with an undeniable riff and mesmerizing chanting.

The final number carries on in purposeful stride, whilst guitars wail in a way most fitting for “Eternal Doom.” Phlegmatic voices intone and we are once again in a trance. Seven-and-a-half minutes in, the mood suddenly changes with new cries of pain and ecstasy revealing a mystical second theme. We encounter the trio in plainchant one more time, taking us to finish with narcotic haze.

Obscure Fire by Megalith Levitation releases March 31st, with an impressive CD package put together by the Aesthetic Death label (pre-order here) and artwork by godlikeikons, who did the covers for Doomed & Stoned in Russia I & II. Stick these songs on a playlist with Ufomammut, Bomg, Dirge, Ethereal Riffian, and Saturnalia Temple.

Give ear…"
doomedandstoned.com/post/713046843915993088/megalithlevitation



machinemusic.net track premiere:
"Track Premiere: Let the Cosmos and Megalith Levitation Engulf Your Soul

As far back as I can remember, I don't think I have ever premiered or featured a band that would fall under the general heading of "psych doom" or "stoner." Mostly, well, because I don't like most of what comes out under those headings. I think that's a pretty good reason. What I do like, however, is Megalith Levitation. I first mentioned this Russian band of cosmic trippers when they released their debut, Acid Doom Rites back in late 2019. It was spacey, it was slow, but it felt like it had a real human soul and a real sense of direction and purpose. So, it's only fitting that the non-stoner-having streak (of which I wasn't really actively aware) is done with this exclusive premiere of a new single off of the upcoming – and absolutely stunning – new album from Megalith Levitation, Obscure Fire, out later this month via Addicted.

And the track in question, "Of Silence," probably my favorite on the entire album, is basically a micro cosmos that holds a lot of the things that make Megalith Levitation great. I say "micro" cautiously because it is, after all, over 10 minutes long. But that's kind of the thing, with all the variety it feels much shorter than that, and sidesteps much of what can sometimes make stoner into a very tedious experience. There are hints of black metal at times, sludge, doom, and an almost Saturnalia Temple-like ability to lull your listener into a trance while never letting go of the riff, or of the engine that drives the cloud of slow-churning metal forward.

Definitely one of the best doom-adjacent releases thus far this year, and a must-listen to anyone with a psych tooth – from Waste of Space Orchestra freaks to Saturnalia Temple maniacs. Check out the track after the jump, and keep safe."
machinemusic.net/2023/03/13/track-premiere-let-the-cosmos-and-megalith-levitation-engulf-your-soul/



kronosmortusnews.com news post:
"Aesthetic Death is proud to present MEGALITH LEVITATION‘s highly anticipated third full-length album, “Obscure Fire”, due out on March 31st 2023.

Lysergic, transcendent doom ritual. Purveyors of the eternal riff.

MEGALITH LEVITATION invite you to return, deeper into their lysergic world. Take the trip through a never-ending dirge of sulphuric doom riffs and monastic chant.

“Void Psalms” (2021) was widely regarded as a worthy album in the genre. Yet “Obscure Fire” truly eclipses the highs previously reached.

Blending the familiar MEGALITH LEVITATION sound with a more refined focus, pulsating driving crushing rhythms carry the smoke-filled guitar lines into their endless oblivion.

“Obscure Fire” is the finest MEGALITH LEVITATION material to date – and deserves to escalate the band into the realms of the doomed elite."
kronosmortusnews.com/2023/02/20/megalith-levitation-russian-doom-metal-cult-to-release-new-album-obscure-fire-in-march/



Germany hellfire-magazin.de review by Mathias Keiber:
"Keine zwei Jahre nach ihrem Zweitling “Void Psalms” melden sich Megalith Levitation aus dem Uralgebirge mit “Obscure Fire” zurück, ihrem dritten und bislang besten Album. Zwar hat die Band nach wie vor kaum Interesse am Thema Songwriting, man reitet u.a. lieber Riffs. Und warum auch nicht? Den Meisten kommt es doch eh nur auf die Riffs an.

Trotzdem ist im Vergleich zum Vorgänger ein gewisser Fortschritt zu vernehmen, ein gewisses Mehr an Dramaturgie. Doch bevor ich jetzt noch größere Worte in die Runde werfe: Nein, Megalith Levitation sind nach wie vor nicht Reverend Bizarre, leiten nach wie vor nicht einen krönenden Höhepunkt über tausend Verzögerungen gekonnt her. Aber was auf “Oscure Fire” zu hören ist, das geht über bloßes Riff-Riding dann doch hinaus.

Konkret: Die Band versteht es besser denn je, Lysergid-getränkte Stimmungen zu erzeugen, in der sich ein Psychedelonaut wie ich doch ganz gerne kopfnickend verliert. Außerdem behagt mir das minimalistische Schlagzeugspiel sehr. Alles in allem gibt’s doch einiges, das mir Hörvergnügen bereitet.

Und dafür gibt’s von mir 8 von 10 HELLFIRE-Punkten."
www.hellfire-magazin.de/megalith-levitation-obscure-fire/



echoesanddust.com review by David Bowes:
"en years ago, an 18m-wide chunk of rock finished its travels through the cosmos and met its fiery end in the sky over Chelyabinsk Oblast in central Russia. Much like its fellow meteor that flattened the forests of Tunguska a century earlier, this one burned up on entry; as it did, it glowed brighter than the sun and sent out shockwaves that blew out windows across the Oblast. Did this event have any influence on the formation of Chalyabinsk’s astral doomsters Megalith Levitation three years later? Honestly, probably not but it’s still easy to draw the connection between the two. Both are astronomically heavy, both take the universe’s outer reaches as their points of origin and it’s pretty much impossible to tear yourself away from either of them until they come to a complete stop.

Obscure Fire is, to put it bluntly, a trip. It flows with the steady, unassuming energy of lava, a slow-moving wave of Sabbathian riffing and nebulous, freaked-out psych dabbling that sounds like Ufomammut fully embracing every Hawkwind fantasy that they’ve ever had. Despite this, it is a wholly unique work that taps into a feral, primal energy. The enigmatic vocals of SAA are genuinely dread-inducing, a long liturgical moan that could drag the gods up from the belly of the earth itself, while PAN’s drumming has a blunt, violent quality that doesn’t feel impeccably tight nor awkwardly messy. Instead, it has the looseness of a quality jam sessionist slowed down to a quarter of their natural pace, intuitive and unsettling at the same time.

And then there’s the riffing. Massive ones that lurch and collapse like the tide, ones with an urgent, driving energy that’ve then been coated in concrete and repurposed as sonic weaponry… and then there’s the ones that Megalith Levitation have always excelled at. They have an ability to infuse their heaviest moments with a thick, lysergic groove that makes it seem to crawl and slither out of the speakers. They create miasmas that reek of sulphur and incense, filling all available space with eldritch otherness; while other bands might weaponise the emptiness within their sound, this trio leave the listener with nowhere to hide.

There are standout moments throughout Obscure Fire’s punchy run – the percussive weight in ‘Of Silence’ gradually picking up speed until it hits a rollicking, wigged out peak; the black hole swirl of reverb that cuts a serpentine path through ‘Into The Depth’; ‘Of Eternal Doom’s almost jazzy interludes where the metallic bass rattle of KKV cuts through the murk only to be silenced with a wave of pure, uncut doom – but they are in thrall to the band’s great plan – the trip. Even more with their magnificent debut, this record feels like a journey. It straps the listener securely in and blasts them off to who knows where. Is it hell? Is it other dimensions? Or is it into deep space, retracing the path of that colossal mass of rock, metal and extraterrestrial detritus that detonated before their eyes a decade ago? Only Megalith Levitation really know but the thrill of taking that ride can’t, and shouldn’t, be denied."
echoesanddust.com/2023/03/megalith-levitation-obscure-fire/



grizzlybutts.com review:
"Smashed apart by the whipping pulse of tiered decay celestial bodies implode in geologic time, setting alight the reverberating stones of long-buried ancient civilizations with radiant shock to ancient foundations. Awakened beneath a fresh blanketing of superbolide radiation and cryptically charged machinery Chelyabinsk, Russia-based psychedelic doom metal trio Megalith Levitation look within the crystal they pass from hand to hand to imbue themselves with the refraction of the flame, occult-hallucinatory visions which delve deeper into the mind with every honed step. ‘Obscure Fire‘ is a third and finest scripture from these Ural-bound devotees of the riff and its transmogrifying properties upon the ripples of the mind — a record which adds wrinkles to the organelle of sentience per increasingly potent rituals in a not-so bizarre yet still vexing tradition.

Megalith Levitation formed circa 2016 with the same trio of hooded cultists which persists today, intent on divination of lysergic visions and shared experiences in altered consciousness by way of doomed psychedelia. Since I’d addressed the discography of the band in fairly detailed review of their second full-length (‘Void Psalms‘, 2021) the gist is that their experience finds them smartly honing in on their biggest breakthroughs and core traits over the years. Their notable debut ‘Acid Doom Rites‘ (2019) began with indulgent longform gloom of the fuzzed and dread-inducing kind, by the time ‘Void Psalms‘ had released their songs had pulled back to nearly half their length, instead of pairing two ~12 minute songs for one piece they’d pair roughly six minute pieces which were tightly related in theme, and this has meant getting to the “goods” quicker while still taking their time. If we are to consider style and aesthetic these considerations have stayed true to their original ideal which structurally resembles the general Sleep-derived lumbering thought on stoner/doom metal rhythmic but also explores the meditative dark psychedelic entrancement of Dark Buddha Rising as well as the occult ire of rare groups like Saturnalia Temple.

I’d already felt like ‘Void Psalms‘ was a fine enough example of a still underground feeling psychedelic/stoner doom metal edge-case with an entirely personal touch but here on album number three their voice is a bit louder, songs a big easier to seep into thanks to “cleaner” production values which still feel extreme and no less tied to their already nuclear stoner/doom attuned sound. The typical piece from Megalith Levitation bears a central rhythmic fixation, either a point of peaking will or meditative centre which consistently generates an eerily transcendental mood, less a stumbling stoner ease and instead a tension which is not only palpable but all-consuming. This effect has only intensified as they’ve economized their statements into ~7-10 songs and steadily improved their production values with each release. From scratchy, signal bleeding fuzz boxes scrabbling in the left channel to a more lucid stereoscopic thunder they’ve notably presented a best yet face to greet newcomers and old heads alike with ‘Obscure Fire‘.

Of course the shamanic, psychedelic, ritualistic… lysergic haunt of this band becomes quickly evident, that fixation isn’t necessarily rare in modern stoner doom which aims to be experiential but this is an especially strong example of a band who put a twist on it beyond ominous chanting and plenty of guitar effects drenching the hall. Granted, that is how they greet us with opener/title track “Obscure Fire” which is well set in place with its huge riff up front ands its slithering unravel throughout the song. Take note around the ~7:28 minute mark on the song, as an important piece of foreshadowing to start. The missing piece, or, the extra note that should be more obvious as you build familiarity with their discography is that Megalith Levitation absolutely thrive within the occasional jam-like tangents which emerge at least a few times on each record. This time around these are feature more readily and slightly more often, the most striking example which presents itself relatively up front being “Of Silence” as it steps into the ~6:58 minute mark and breaks into a psychedelic freakout, well, as freakout as this type of doom ever gets without a hard rock swing in sight. This is one of my favorite songs and moments on the album though I’m not sure that is saying much when there are yet four main pieces overall alongside an interlude (“Descending”) which sews the end of “Of Silence” together with “Into the Depth”.

Not all but most of Megalith Levitation‘s releases have approached songs as jams, spells, separate rituals which cut each record into four variously equal parts while often conjoining pieces. This time around ‘Obscure Fire‘ doesn’t cut the greater event apart in the same way, instead developing a narrative shared between most songs with no major pauses between the contents of each side. Fewer interruptions naturally means staying connected to whatever immersion is achieved and this’d gone a long way towards getting stuck on this record for hours at a time; Each song on Side A flows seamlessly into the next but more importantly begins developing (or, implying) the rhythmic motif of the next song just as it ends, this was ultimately a great facto in my favoring the first half of this record. As we step into the ~20 minute pairing of “Into the Depth” and “Of Eternal Doom” over on Side B it is clear these are more a progression of joint meaning, a grand finale which doesn’t marry in the same way the first half of the record had. While I’d generally found “Into the Depth” a somewhat average song it does not upend or tarnish its place within the full listen, instead serving as a heavier lurking point of entry which sets us up for the searching psychedelia-strewn advance of the closer. I’d particularly enjoyed the cleaner bass tone and its curious chthonic groove beneath the wandering, repetitive action of “Of Eternal Doom” and in a way this half of the record gave me more of what I’d liked most about ‘Void Psalms‘ with a slightly different approach.

As a fan of dark, possessed and psychedelic doom metal ‘Obscure Fire‘ is a fairly natural fit for my own collection as a release rooted just enough in the periphery of traditional doom metal to avoid losing the plot while also achieving the headier extremes meditative, riff-driven stoner doom metal has to offer in its most ominous form. Though Megalith Levitation have streamlined their experience with sharper production values and a more standard ~45 minute album length this third time around these choices have only enhanced and highlighted the surreal qualities of the trio’s craft making for a fine entry point and milestone in their greater evolution. A high recommendation." 81/100
grizzlybutts.com/2023/03/25/megalith-levitation-obscure-fire-2023-review/




Polish apocalypticrites.blogspot.com review by Hatzamoth:
"Trzech zakapturzonych mistyków z Czelabińska na Uralu, którzy ukrywają się pod szyldem Megalith Levitation, powróciło po niespełna dwóch latach hibernacji. Najprościej rzecz ujmując, panowie się uaktywnili i ponownie rozjebali system. Zrobili to bezapelacyjnie i w całej rozciągłości znaczenia tego zagadnienia. Już poprzedni „Void Psalms” przeczołgał mnie potwornie po meandrach surrealistycznych rytuałów, ale to, co zrobił ze mną „Obscure Fire”, przechodzi wszelkie granice i wymyka się jakimkolwiek porównaniom, przy zachowaniu zdrowego rozsądku. Gdy zaczynacie odsłuch tego krążka, zdrowy rozsądek powinniście zatem spuścić w kiblu, a na okładce „Obscure…” powinno być wypisane wielkimi, złotymi zgłoskami: „Porzućcie wszelkie nadzieje wszyscy, którzy decydujecie się zmierzyć z zawartością tej płyty”. Muzyka tu zawarta sprawia bowiem, że krew dosłownie gęstnieje w arteriach, puls zwalnia do absurdalnie niskich wartości, serce ledwo pompuje zawiesisty, życiodajny płyn, a pod potylicą powstają wizje, przy których te z „Odmiennych Stanów Świadomości” jawią się jako mierny żart. Obcowanie z tymi dźwiękami, to jak spoglądanie w przechodzący z rąk do rąk, ogromny pryzmat, w którym implodują ciała niebieskie, a wręcz całe ich mgławice, rozświetlając przy tym promieniste łuny dawno już pogrzebanych cywilizacji. Kryształ ten przepełniają także okultystyczno-halucynogenne wizje oraz ślady przedziwnych, prastarych niczym samo zło obrzędów, głęboko penetrujące umysły tych, którzy odważyli się weń wejrzeć, a wszystko to dzieje się w oparach przyszłego, post-nuklearnego kataklizmu. Nie ma specjalnego sensu opisywać ponownie, jakimi środkami muzycy Megalith Levitation osiągają takie efekty, gdyż wydaje mi się, że dosyć dokładnie scharakteryzowałem je przy okazji recenzowania „Pustki Psalmów”, niemniej myślę, że warto zaznaczyć tu, iż „Przyćmiony Ogień”, choć wierny początkowej estetyce grupy przypomina nieco bardziej senną, lumberingową myśl eksplorującą ciemność, jak i medytacyjne, psychodeliczne uniesienia prowadzące konsekwentnie do transcendentalnych punktów szczytowych i zaklęć mających na celu eskalację materializacyjnych aspektów woli. Wszyscy, którzy zastanawiają się w tej chwili, „o co mu kurwa chodzi?”, i nie chce im się drążyć, co autor tej recenzji miał na myśli, niech zapamiętają po prostu, że „ObscureFire”, to wyśmienity, potwornie uciskający makówkę, w chuj ciężki album, który dla wszystkich maniaków tłustego, transowego, gniotącego z gniewną surowością Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metalu jest pozycją do obowiązkowego zakupu. Ja jednak posunę się o krok dalej. Uważam mianowicie, że w tym bardzo eklektycznym gatunku żaden album nie ma w tym roku najmniejszych szans (choć z 2023 uciekły raptem trzy miechy) choćby zbliżyć się do poziomu „trójki” Megalith Levitation i mówię to z pełną świadomością wagi mych słów. Pierdolona, miażdżąca, mistyczna doskonałość. On Your Knees Motherfuckers!"
apocalypticrites.blogspot.com/2023/03/recenzja-megalith-levitation-obscure.html




metal-temple.com review by Gary Hernandez:
"The music of MEGALITH LEVITATION sounds exactly as the moniker describes: Heavy down-tuned riffs with the gravitational pull of an event horizon paradoxically coupled with the lightness of cosmic psychedelics. Huh? Allow me to explain . . .

First the basics, MEGALITH LEVITATION is a Doom Metal trio out of Chelyabinsk, Russia. Chelyabinsk is a city in west-central Russia, close to the Ural Mountains. The city is famous for making a whole other type of heavy metal—tanks. Since the band’s inception in 2016, they have released one split and three full-lengths. Their latest album, “Obscure Fire,” was issued on March 31, 2023 via Aesthetic Death Records. Surprisingly, the band hasn’t had a single lineup change since they got together. Very impressive, keeping in mind that one Metal band year is like seven light years to mere mortals. I mention this because of the band’s tightness. You get a lot of this with trios, but there is an internal fluidity between SAA’s guitar work, KKV and PAN’s rhythm, and SAA’s vocals. The vocals, btw, are clean and can be characterized as ‘ethereal echo chamber.’

“Obscure Fire” is a meditative Doom trek through the icy expanse of the abyss. It has the tonality and tempo of Doom balanced with the fuzzy mind space of Stoner. With only five tracks it is a deceptively hefty album weighing in at over 42 minutes. Yeah, do the math, some lengthy tracks there, though “Descending” (track three) is an anomaly at two and half minutes. Probably not an album you want to do cardio to.

On a side note, the cover art is by Russian artist GodLikeIkons who has done all the band’s covers. This particular one is a meshing of images and impressions from either the album tracks or a really bad mushroom trip. It’s all rendered in black and white, like a page from an epic Psych Doom coloring book. Great stuff.

Best tracks are always debatable, but I’ll go with the title track, “Obscure Fire,” for its melodic flourishes and the bottomless breaks and “Of Silence” for its churning riffs which build to tidal proportions before deconstructing down to its constituent elements. Hardcore Doom fans will be drawn more toward “Descending” and “Of Eternal Doom.” I guess that only leaves “Into the Depths.” Excellent track reminiscent of a Lovecraftian underwater city. And I guess hydrostatic pressure is similar in effect to gravitational pull, incomprehensibly heavy.

Lyrically, the first two tracks read like Vedic mantras while the final two tracks read more like missing chapters to Robert W. Chamber’s “The King in Yellow.” The third track, while also meditative, acts like a segue or interlude bridging between the trippy invocations for tracks one and two and the brooding narratives of tracks four and five. As noted earlier, there is always a fine balance with this band.

And that pretty much sums up MEGALITH LEVITATION, incomprehensively heavy tunage paired with morosely kaleidoscopic lyrics. Go and get you some. And also some back-up woofers and subwoofers—you’re going to be needing those too.

Songwriting: 8
Musicianship: 8
Memorability: 7
Production: 7"
www.metal-temple.com/site/catalogues/entry/reviews/cd_3/m_2/megalith-levitation.htm




Spanish lamuerteteniaunblog.blogspot.com review by Coronel Mortimer:
"Vuelvo a transitar por los tegumentos sonoros de los rituales rusos MEGALITH LEVITATION de quienes os traje por aquí un Split con Dekonstruktor y el anterior, mayestático y apabullante Void Psalms. Para datos biográficos os remito a los dos enlaces previos y así me ahorro metralla literaria. Su monumental nuevo disco Obscure Fire vuelve a contar con el sello AESTHETIC DEATH que sacan el álbum en un expectacular Digipack desplegable con libreto interior que alterna tanto fotografías como ilustraciones de GodLikeIkons; una auténtica pasada que refleja a la perfección ese espíritu Psych Occult Doom que se traen entre manos el trío, que siguen siendo: KKV (bajo), PAN (batería) y SAA (guitarra y voces). Para terminar los detalles técnicos, Obscure Fire se graba en Temple of Silence Studio excepto las baterías que se graban en los Wildboard. Para los amantes de las cassettes, existe versión en cinta a cargo de Sounds of Karachun. Vamos al disco:

El homónimo "Obscure Fire" son nueve minutos que entran sin contemplaciones. Un riff circular de guitarra acompasándose a una base rítmica que va creciendo hasta que estalla en esa distorsión clásica de gente como Yob, Sleep y similares, con la particularidad de usar unas voces que pueden recordar a esos lánguidos cánticos propios de los dioses Bong. Efectos Fuzz ultra cósmicos de las pedaleras te ponen en una órbita alucinante que ojo, no está exenta en ningún momento de un gusto exquisito por la oscuridad... y me explico; si otras bandas de este palo suelen ser más lisérgicas que Doom (no sé, así a bote pronto se me ocurren Jex Thoth, Blood Ceremony, Huata...), en Megalith Levitation el cóctel es total: mitad alquitrán, mitad zumo de Litio. Otro aspecto que me encanta de esta gente es que no abusan del Sludge ni del Drone y sus temas están más enfocados a un ultra ácido Doom Metal.

Me voy a permitir el lujo de reproducir las letras porque me parecen un flipe:
`I will be your guiding, ever-burning fire
With spiral flames I will
Create new world of illusions
And ancient mysteries
Will rise from diamond tombs

Burning through the granite walls of enslaved consciousness

Petrified borders of mind
Smashed by whips of dying suns
So take this chemical keys
To see their sepulchral light´

Fabulosos los tres últimos minutos que tiran por terrenos cuasi Progresivos que recuerdan a los grupos italianos del sello Black Widow o los también italianos y devastadores NIBIRU. Bandas de este tipo hay muchas, pero que te consigan llegar al tronco del encéfalo no hay tantas y sin duda MEGALITH LEVITATION son de las que son como ponerte una pastillita de colorines debajo de la lengua. Sigue la monolítica "Of Silence", con multitud de detalles minimalistas en segundo plano, efectos de pedaleras a lo Septic Mind / Esoteric y una base rítmica pétrea como una cadena montañosa cárstica. La guitarra no está quieta ni un instante y hace una labor solista encomiable, meciendo y mutando constantemente, confundiéndose inclusive con el bajo. 10 minutos que se pasan como un suspiro sobre todo por la larguísima introducción instrumental... para cuando entra la mántrica voz parece que estoy metido en un Spin Off o Meandro existencial del Jerusalem / Dopesmoker de los Sleep (ah, y me he cagado en los calzoncillos). Del minuto 7 en adelante todo se va de madre con un pasaje bastante técnico y avantgarde al estilo de gente como los thrashers Vektor pero mezclado con un regusto Black Metal sobre todo por la afinación de la guitarra.

El corto puente de dos minutos "Descending" sirve para acomodar el cuerpo. Tempo lentísimo y claustrofóbico, rozando el Funeral Doom y continuándose licuosamente con "Into the Depths", donde es imposible no acordarse que había unos tales Electric Wizard capaces de devolver a los muertos a la vida con electricidad y unos amplis. MEGALITH LEVITATION además aportan unos efectos necro espaciales (turbinas, generadores, regurgitaciones, wah wah, mucho fuzz....) que te deja la sensación de estar metido dentro de una onírica / surrealista pintura del holandés Ercher. Puede parecer extraño, pero se me viene a la cabeza el primer disco (Water, Wealth, Hell On Earth) del grupo de culto de Oregón (y de parecido nombre) MEGATON LEVIATHAN.

Cierra el disco la descomunal "Of Eternal Doom", de 13 minutos de duración y que completan el trayecto por el celestial caleidoscopio en el que nos meten los de Chelyabinsk. Inicio lánguido y espaciado, en crescendo controlado como si se tratara de una nana o canción colegial pasada por un filtro de Occult Doom insistente, de cierto cariz ritual y muy, muy pegadizo. Un descenso sin duda por un anti-vórtice que te va dragando mientras bajo y guitarra crean una muralla asfixiante que te amortaja las fosas nasales. En el minuto 8 cambio de ritmo abrupto durante unos segundos donde un contrabajo llega, se presenta y marcha para retomarse luego la rumiada melodía; como el bucle perverso de una neurosis compulsiva,

Megalith Levitation te acompañan hasta el mismo filo del cosmos; atrás, la existencia... un pasito delante, la nada."
lamuerteteniaunblog.blogspot.com/2023/06/megalith-levitation-obscure-fire.html




avenoctum.com review by Pete Woods:
"It can’t be easy for any band practicing dark rites in deepest Russia right now and apart from a look to check they are not preaching warmongering politics we have to give them a pass without any form of prejudice. All that the trio of hooded and for pretty obvious reasons anonymous players from Chelyabinsk Oblast have seemed to want to do over three albums and a split with Dekonstruktor is worship at the altar of low-end fuzz via the medium of psychedelic doom. Here it’s a case of being our guiding ever burning fire, walking through the cold forest in the moonlight and being doomed to wander in the cells of time. Some of their lyrical output thus quoted it’s time to submerge ourselves into the heady of fragrance of their music, be warned things could all get rather trippy.

Deep bass twangs as the musicians stolidly pluck at instruments and the drums rumble in with a low brooding ballast. Clean and ceremonial chants waft in the background and our reverential hosts have us shuffling along as they rise from their diamond tombs with a treasure that may not be rare but is bound to be precious to some. It’s a case of digging in for repetitive rhythms and long elongated tones here over the five presented tracks. The album actually flows with nary a pause and is best confronted as one piece of music, perhaps that is why the track titles kind of run in a sort of formation and everything has us literally ‘Descending,’ ‘Into The Depths,’ ‘Of Eternal Doom.’

Those versed in the arcane spells of Electric Wizard and their chemically altered ilk will be very much at home here. Production is suitably dense and this is guaranteed to rumble the rafters and have your speakers quaking perhaps due to what I suspect are the limited opportunities of playing it to a live audience. It’s very easy to lose yourself in the depths, not of the abyss perhaps but the mines of your mind as you prospect treasure and the serpentine melodies uncoil and warp like the bastard child of early Hawkwind. The band may have levitation in their name but this is more a case of early 70’s ‘Paranoia’ inducing stuff with the distorted reverberations of Krautrock as its granite slabbed coating. With what is described as thunderbass & еclectic double bass it’s KKV who creates the biggest sonic rumbles, by comparison vocalist SAA’s parts are hymnal and sit back with a devotional finesse and there are lengthy periods where you can simply concentrate on the instrumental elements whilst your brain slowly stews and simmers away. At 2:24s ‘Descending’ works as short craggy descent into the second half of the album which by complete contrast culminates with the epic stygian 13:44s conclusion ‘Of Eternal Doom.’ This is not however an album to particularly dissect in a track-by-track way, you’ll be too busy hanging on through the lofty low, slow blizzard of riffs with your brain trying to cope with the onset of doom dementia.

This is either an album you are going to tune in and turn on to or one you are going to find as exciting as watching paint dry. The methodical approach is somewhat obtuse and there is no middle ground to be found here. The madder you are, the better no doubt and you can always gaze into the psychedelic artwork of the cover and booklet whilst you listen and attempt to reach a higher level of consciousness. Be warned though, head may go “boom” in the process."
avenoctum.com/2023/04/21/megalith-levitation-obscure-fire-aesthetic-death/




neilk.substack.com review by
"Doom bands don’t ever just form like Voltron - in Megalithic Levitation’s case, they apparently ‘materialised from the eternal void and acid vapours of Chelyabinsk, Russia in April 2016 to bare their psalms into this world’. Heavy as hell and peppered with fantastically abyssal riffs, it’s got a lovely sense of seething dissatisfaction to it - the vocals are always processed and phased into a total slurry of pitiable discontent. Crucially this is a truly psychedelic doom record, as informed by the lysergic likes of Brainfeeder as more contemporary peers - every single sound on colossi like ‘Of Eternal Doom’ is twisted into gruesomeness, to the point where you start wondering if that Meteor that hit Chelyabinsk in 2013 seeped radiation into the water supply. Superb."
neilk.substack.com/p/fave-records-atm




Dutch carrysnewundergroundmusic.blogspot.com review by Carry Munter:
"Megalith Levitation uit Chelyabinsk, Rusland werd in 2016 opgericht en bestaat uit: PAN - drums, KKV - basgitaar en SAA - zang en sologitaar.
De band bracht hun debuut album "Acid Doom Rites" op 22 september 2019 uit als CD en digitale download, waarna op 3 augustus 2020 de split CD "Megalith Levitation / Dekonstruktor" volgde, waarop elke band 2 lange nummers speelt en op 1oktober verschijnt het tweede volledige album van de band, getiteld "Void Psalms", dat 4 nummers bevat, via Addicted Label als LP en digitale download, via Aesthetic Death als CD en via Pestis Insaniae als cassette, waarbij gastmuzikant Anton Maximov saxofoon in het laatste nummer speelt.
Op 31 maart 2023 verscheen hun album "Obscure Fire", waarop 5 nummers staan, als CD in een beperkte oplage van 300 stuks via Aesthetic Death, als cassette in een beperkte oplage van 70 stuks via Sounds Of Karachun en als digitale download via Addicted label.

Het album start met het titelnummer "Obscure Fire", waarin Megalith Levitation een nummer met een gemiddeld tempo met een terugkerend ritme speelt, dat na 1 minuut verandert in een trage stoner song met doom invloeden, die overgaat in "Of Silence", een schitterend stoner nummer met een licht hypnotiserend terugkerend ritme en een gemiddeld tempo, dat een vervolg krijgt in "Descending", een langzame song met invloeden van stoner en doom.
In "Into The Depths" gaat Megalith Levitation verder met het maken van trage zware stoner en terugkerende ritmes en in "Of Eternal Doom" krijg ik opnieuw een zware trage song met een terugkerend ritme te horen, waarin invloeden van doom en stoner met elkaar verbonden worden om halverwege het nummer van ritme te veranderen om dat enkele minuten later nogmaals te doen.

"Obscure Fire" van Megalith Levitation bevat 5 uitstekende stoner / doom nummers, die liefhebbers van deze genres zeker op waarde weten te schatten en ik raad hen dan ook aan eens naar deze schijf te gaan luisteren."
carrysnewundergroundmusic.blogspot.com/2023/08/review-megalith-levitation-obscure-fire.html




gbumps.blog review:
"The endless ritual continues. This time a group from Chelyabinsk goes in search of fire. Descending into a gloomy dungeon, they discover an abyss. There the breath of the Earth is emerging and embracing the travelers. The trio is once again in no hurry, allowing the riffs to resonate with the seething magma that does not break out, but accumulates its crushing energy. Walk along the caldera’s edge and manage not to fall down."
gbumps.blog/2023/08/29/goosebumps-chronicles-22-spring-2022-10-early-birds/




Germany vanbauseneick.de/krautnick/ review by Matze:
"1,2 Millionen Einwohner, aber wer außerhalb Russlands kennt die am Ural gelegene Stadt Челябинск (Tscheljabinsk), wer nicht schon lang Fan der Band Megalith Levitation ist? Jenes Trio erweitert sein Spektrum an tieftönenden Doomstrecken mit seinem neuen Album „Obscure Fire“, dem dritten seit 2019. In der Tat verfeinern die drei Akronyme ihre Kompositionen, verleihen dem tiefgestimmten, verschleppten, dunklen Doom viele filigrane, beinahe zarte Momente, in sich gekehrte, versonnene, versunkene Strecken, dann oft gar nicht so weit weg von frühem Gothic Rock à la Fields Of The Nephilim, der sich ja bei Pink Floyd bedient. Mit den überlangen – bis auf dem Zweieinhalbminüter in der Mitte – Tracks generieren Megalith Levitation einen hypnotischen Trancezustand, einen Sog, in den man sich gern fallen lässt, und von dem man nicht weiß, ob er einen ins All befördert oder in irgendwelche undefinierbaren Tiefen. Gelegentlich reißt einen das Trio selbst aus der Kontemplation heraus, indem es unerwarteterweise das Tempo variiert – es kann auch Galopp und Walzertakt, ohne an Wirkung einzubüßen.

Ob der Gesang tatsächlich Inhalte vermittelt, ist aufgrund der Art des Vortrags nicht so einfach zu erfassen, auch wenn die Songtitel auf Englisch gehalten sind. In der Info steht ohnehin nichts von Gesang und Instrumenten, sondern ist danach jemand namens SAA verantwortlich für „Sermons & Fuzzmagic“, vermutlich also das langgedehnte Singen und die elektrische Gitarre. KKV hat „Thunderbass & Eclectic Double Bass“ in den Händen und PAN die „Skullhammers“, ja, man hat schon anhand der Beschreibung eine vortreffliche und zutreffende Vorstellung von der Musik, die bei so etwas herauskommt. Dunkelheit mag da vorherrschen, Nihilismus durchschimmern, und doch birgt auch dieser Koloss an schweren Riffs und Verzweiflung eine gewisse Lebensfreude, die man mindestens daran festmachen kann, dass diese Musik überhaupt existiert – wer komplett nihilistisch und verzweifelt ist, macht keine so überzeugenden Alben mehr. Die CD-Version erscheint wie beim Vorgänger „Void Psalms“ vor zwei Jahren beim Label Asethetic Death."
vanbauseneick.de/krautnick/spezial-addicted-noname-label-aus-moskau-teil-15/

theobelisk.net review:
"Its five songs broken into two sections along lines of “Obscure Fire” pairing with “Of Silence” and “Descending” leading to “Into the Depths” with “Of Eternal Doom” answering the question that didn’t even really need to be asked about which depths the Russian stoner sludge rollers were talking about. The Sleep-worshiping three-piece of guitarist/vocalist SAA, bassist KKV and drummer PAN — whose credits are worth reading in the band’s own words — lumber with purpose as they make that final statement, each side of Obscure Fire working shortest to longest beginning with the howling guitar and drum thud of the title-track at nine minutes as opposed to the 10 of “Of Silence.” At two minutes, “Descending” is barely more than feedback and tortured gurgles, so yes, very much a fit with the concrete-toned plod of the subsequent “Into the Depths” as the band skirt the line between ultra-stoner metal and cavernous atmospheric sludge without necessarily committing to one or the other. That position favors them, but after a certain point of being bludgeoned with huge riffs and slow-nodding, deeply-weighted churn, your skull is going to be goo either way. The route Megalith Levitation take to get you there is where the weed is, aurally speaking."
theobelisk.net/obelisk/2023/10/03/quarterly-review-fall-2023-day-2/



disagreement.net review by Pascal Thiel:
"Russian psychedelic acid doom sludge metal trio Megalith Levitation is back at it again. When the band released their debut album Acid Doom Rites in 2019, they had four sprawling tracks over nearly eighty minutes running time. The following Void Psalms, out two years later, also had four tracks, but they only made it a little over fifty minutes. On their third longplayer Obscure Fire, the guys offer five new songs that don’t even make it to three quarters of an hour.

Does this mean that Megalith Levitation have become more commercial? Certainly not! Their songs are just somewhat more compact, running between seven and fourteen minutes, except for the short Descending in the middle which stays under three minutes. The music is still very slow-paced, crawling like lava through your speakers. The guitar varies between down-tuned doom riffs and higher pitched, more melodic playing, which works very well, as the bass guitar, played through a whole range of effects, makes sure that the bottom notes are always well covered.

In fact, the album feels like one long piece of music, as the songs are usually segueing quite elegantly one into the other. Especially the two longer songs that make it over ten minutes use their time to build up tension, before, like on Of Silence, ending on an incredibly psychedelic guitar part. This can also be observed on the fourteen minute long Of Eternal Doom which is closing the album.

Often doom metal bands are relying solely on slow and heavy rhythms, but Megalith Levitation are taking it all a few steps further. The vocals are not rough, but instead have a conjuring quality which fits well with the band’s monk’s habits that they are wearing on promo photos and in live settings. The psychedelic component allows for acid and stoner influences, but never overdoing it to become a farce. While I was awed by the trio’s expansive debut album, I enjoy their more concise Obscure Fire even more. It’s a hypnotic and unrelenting exercise in slow-motion metal that never lacks charisma. When it comes to extreme doom metal, few bands can play on this high level."
www.disagreement.net/reviews2023/megalithlevitation_obscurefire.html

credits

released March 31, 2023

SAA – sermons & fuzzmagic
KKV – thunderbass, еclectic double bass (5)
PAN – skullhammers

Recorded autumn 2021 at Temple of Silence Studio
Except drums, recorded spring 2021 at Wildboar Studio

Mixed and mastered by Memphis (Dekonstruktor), Spring 2022

Graphic visions and band logo by GodLikeIkons
instagram.com/godlikeikons

Labels:
CD: Aesthetic Death - aestheticdeath.com
cat# ADCD 091

Tapes: Звуки Карачуна (Sounds of Karachun) - vk.com/karachunchords

BC\Digital: Addicted Label - noname666.bandcamp.com
cat# 645 K

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Megalith Levitation Chelyabinsk, Russia

Megalith Levitation materialized from the eternal void and acid vapors of Chelyabinsk, Russia in April 2016 to bare their psalms into this world.

For full bio and links tap link: taplink.cc/megalithlevitation

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