#sarberus

Here at Doom and Dead we shine a spotlight on small-time doom, drone, and psych acts that deserve more attention. Our favorite release this month comes from California doom bringer Maliciouz.

This one-man machine is mining pure doom-sludge straight outta the Mojave Desert. His latest offering, Sarberus, is low, slow, and heavy as fuck — just what you’d expect from the land of big rocks and slow time. These instrumental tracks hit like a joshua tree to the face. So turn up the volume and step into the sand with me as we find out what Maliciouz has to offer.

Even Against Sorrow is a soulful trudge through desolate terrain. Solemn pacing and a dour melody paint the passage of eons. This one feels like a monument to survival against the odds. 

Wearied Repose is like a brief rest among the ruins on an arduous journey. Ponderous riffage pays its respects to the grim surroundings. With a run time of almost 9 minutes, Maliciouz gives himself plenty of room to expound on his ideas. The result is a deeply textured track with a nuanced sense of despair and solitude.

If you’re itching for something that dooms hard, then Under the Weight will cure what ails you. It’s a massive slab of loud, low riffs ready to erode your senses and drag you down to a cavernous abyss. The guitar tone will vibrate your skull off of your spine as your last shred of hope crumbles like sun-baked gypsum. 

Grab an ice pack, (and pack a bong while you’re at it,) because when Zimrah 23 comes on, you’re going to have a nasty case o’ stank face for 6 minutes straight. This one’s dark and brutal, kids. Despite a bone-shattering riff, the song is not afraid to wander away from the melody. It’s a bold move that pays off in spades. A little dissonance is the spice of life… and sometimes the scorpion in your sleeping bag.

Senescent Ruction is even slower and more funerary than the previous tracks. Like a fiery sunset stretching over the waste, the oppressive atmosphere unfolds gradually. The hypnotic slog decays into shadowy sludge one molecule at a time. Prepare to be sucked into a buzzing infernal doom hole. 

Lamentation is massive and unknowable, chugging down whole galaxies in a single gulp. Notes dive one after the other, shooting stars tumbling in the void. This composition is vast an impenetrable. Like the desert sky at night, Lamentation proves to be both imposing and humbling.

The Wilderness Feeds You is labyrinthene and heavy with a savage bite. This shit goes down like raw jackrabbit and peyote. Don’t forget to swallow.

Maliciouz closes things out with the introspective track Mezmernaut. It’s a meditative linstrumental that leaves you blinking in the stillness when it ends. You’ll find yourself staggering out of the desert in a deep trance, irreparably changed.

Maliciouz offers up funeral sludge that’s been rubbed in creosote and blistered in the sun. If you like metal with extra frills, then look elsewhere. These songs are boiled down to their essential essence and delivered at a creeping pace. Each of the 8 tracks on Sarberus brings something different to the table, but it’s clear they’re all born of the same arid wilderness. 

Sit back, crank the volume, and become one with the Mojave.