Interdimensional doom is not usually the first thing that springs to mind when you think of Norwegian metal, and High Priest Of Saturn are certainly pushing all known boundaries with their debut. Realms of tripped-out bliss soak into the hazy atmosphere created by this trio and drip with opium-laced hedonism along with a generous touch of lazy groove.
Merethe Heggset’s bass curls around her sensually distant voice and rich organ-style keys (played by non-bandmember Ole Kristian Malmedal) dip into the spaces left by the crunched-down guitars and rolling, lackadaisical drum lines. Protean Towers and Crawling King Snake are reimagined from their 2011 demo and swirl in ever more mesmerising tones and psychedelic hues, the latter sounding as though it has been brought forward from an age long since passed.
On Mayda Insula hypnotises with steady rhythms of dangerously soothing progression and High Priest Of Saturn slowly meanders to its conclusion on waves of 70s-esque hallucinatory ardour, drawing soaring riffs from the guitars that dance with the organ-heavy crescendo that spells the end.
