EP Review: Reaper Season by Jointhugger (Majestic Mountain Records)

Norwegian doomsters, Jointhugger, will release their brand new single track EP titled Reaper Season on the 2nd of April via Majestic Mountain Records.

Formed in 2012 amidst the Norwegian fjords, Jointhugger are an explosive trio that bring to mind the atmospheric and cosmic doom of rock colossi like Shrinebuilder, Sleep and YOB. They released their debut album, I Am No One, in 2020 and instantly caught the eye and ear of Majestic Mountain Records (Saint Karloff, Electric Hydra, Draken). That brought forth a union set to bring us two releases in 2021 with Reaper Season being the first.

Reaper Season sees Jointhugger delve into the realms of ego-death, and the Angel of Darkness’s role in the slow decay of the modern world. As the band explain below:

“The song is a commentary about the struggle of fitting into the machinations of a humanity that has lost its way”. “The world seems to be crumbling in front of our very eyes right now. Satan as our inner animal or ‘beast’ becomes a metaphor for the most natural part of us that’s unhindered by what’s taught by society, the patriarchy, and religion. Inner light, true freedom and self-reliance; these intrinsic human traits seem to have been vilified, kept in check by a system run by fear mongers, warlords and men in suits.”

Over eighteen minutes, like watchers of creation the trio react to the world via a heady doom rock assault which lays waste to the turbulence of dominion. Reaper Season is simply indispensable, and upon the wings of Jointhugger’s crushing heaviness descends a deeply evocative and menacing harbinger of things to come.

As you expect from the style of music and the length of the song, it is a slow build up to get us underway. The atmosphere builds up around you over a slow melancholic melody that frightens the pants off of you when it suddenly explodes into a distorted crunch. As quick as it came, it disappears again, dropping back into a slow brooding rhythm. I love the raw sound on the drums in particular. They really stood out early and work perfectly with the sombre sounds.

The style of broody melody followed by a sudden jump in volume and distortion is impactful. I love the vocals that come in, all clean but full of raw emotion and feeling. Little droplets of melody sit nicely within the doomscape in a song that has many, many layers all working together in harmony. I genuinely found myself swept up and lost all sense of time suddenly realising that what felt like seconds had been half the song.

Reaper Season continues on moving into different phases where the speed picks up with faster drums, more crunch and a quicker riff. It always sits over the main starting melody though which joins everything together nicely. Damn this is a good song. It drenches you in a weighty atmosphere but never to the point of drowning, occasionally pulling you back from the brink with with a little melody, or solo or burst of vocals. Clever, impactful stuff from a band obviously oozing talent and one to firmly keep your eyes and ears upon for the future.

Reaper Season is available for preorder now – grab your copy from Majestic Mountain Records here.

Jointhugger Links

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