SELF HYPNOSIS
Contagion Of Despair
SVART
Esoteric members find new routes to the cosmic outer reaches
This collaboration between Kris Clayton (Esoteric, Camel Of Doom) and Greg Chandler (Esoteric) isn’t your run-of-the-mill UK doom album. This is made apparent from the moment the 13-minute Contagion pounds into range with a strident beat that could have been borrowed from one of Kevin Martin and Justin Broadrick’s various projects. The song - and the album - proceeds into mid-paced prog territory with a distinctly cosmic edge, Clayton roaring into the void as session drummer Tom Vallely locks into a succession of tidal patterns. Rather than follow an established template, Self Hypnosis have opted to advance their chosen form and the result is one of the most striking metal albums of 2020.