Hound The Wolves- Camera Obscura
Review by Brian Kim
This week, Portland psychedelic metal outfit Hound The Wolves are celebrating the release of their debut record, Camera Obscura, a dark, spellbinding collection of music with roots equally deep in the occult as in the droning musical style of bands like Earth and Neurosis.
Featuring members of Sioux, Mane of the Cur, A//tar, and Tigers On Opium, Hound The Wolves deftly craft an immersive and mysterious world of dense, smokey riffs and mind-bending, Pink Floyd tinged psychedelia. Their songs are like spiritual journeys, slowly evolving and discovering themselves, bleeding into each other, and ultimately coalescing into an immersive and transcendent aural experience.
Camera Obscura’s opening track, “If Lost In Mind” is a slow burning buildup of a track layered with haunting acoustic guitar and principal songwriter Juan Carlos Caceres’ delay-soaked vocals. The song fades like a wayward spirit before taking a turn and launching into the relentless opening riffs of “Masquerade”. Lap steel from Tim Burke plays heavily on this track both melodically and atmospherically, especially as the song wanes from it’s incendiary beginning into smoldering, expansive soundscapes. Caceres and Burke work alongside synth player Nate Write to create an otherworldly realm of lush, tripped out atmospherics while the rhythm section of bassist Coey DeCaire and drummer Ryan McPhaill anchors the ethereal nature of these songs with clarity and drive.
Camera Obscura is available now on Bandcamp and features beautiful artwork by Adam Burke. Hound The Wolves is supporting the release of Camera Obscura with a run of northwest tour dates, including a stop in Seattle at the beloved Funhouse with post-metal champions Smooth Sailing, local legend Jack Endino’s prog rock rebels Upwell, and internationally renowned doom duo Year of the Cobra. Definitely a night not to miss.
8pm // 21+ // $8 // Funhouse // 109 Eastlake Ave E
https://www.facebook.com/events/334922463652780/
