Wolvserpent / Blood Seed

20 Buck Spin

Wolvserpent is the Boise, Idaho, duo formerly known lightheartedly as Pussygutt (after an old slang term for the violin or fiddle). Blood Seed, their fourth album and first under the new moniker, seamlessly melds disparate strains of experimentation into their most cohesive and cinematic vision thus far. Blood Seed has been in the works for more than a year, during which the band constantly honed and refined the material both live and in the studio. The two side-long tracks, "Wolv" and "Serpent," revel in a shimmering, dark gothic vision of rural Northwestern solitude and bleakness. The A-side sways to and fro in a perpetual trance state while violin flourishes in the background hint at the creeping menace of night's onward march toward total darkness. Soon the crushing tone of Green's guitar veers forward, blasting through the forest canopy, and the track is ensconced in the weight of massive doomed devastation and McConnell's militaristic percussive punishment. The B-side summons the howling wolves before stretching out into the doom riffage of the year, like a warped Kyuss cassette submerged in a watery grave. These are the ghosts of the uncivil dead. One of the most creative, talented and unheralded acts on the 20 Buck Spin roster, Wolvserpent emerge from their self-imposed isolation to spread the mortuary drape over the entire US throughout October when they embark on their first major tour. In its physical manifestation, Blood Seed will be an LP-only release, limited to a scant 500 shiftable units. Don't sleep on it.

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