Somewhere in Russia, a sonic landscape was birthed out of an ancient amplifier and cabinet combo that was powered to life and roared forth an otherworldly call. The waves churned forth rattle the earth and deafens all those near the epicenter. Breathing became arduous as the very air turned to a sludgy miasma. The leveled earth surrounding the ancient technology heaves and from a tear in space, Megalith Levitation emerges.
The Russian doom trio is what would be summoned forth if the primordial stages of Sunn O))), Boris, and Electric Wizard came together and attempted a sonic occult ritual. Something that that fellow prominent Russian composer, Alexander Scriabin (1872 – 1915) was attempting with his work Mysterium. Unfortunately he died from an infection before being able to complete the work, and ritual plans. Megalith Levitation’s first offering to the world, Acid Doom Rites, is equal parts crushing occult stoner doom and entrancingly drawn out sonic violation and vision. The album itself is of mammoth proportions, with two tracks spilling over twenty minutes and none under ten minutes.
And rites of acid doom these sepulchral passages are. From beginning to end the album has the feel of an occult ceremony bathed in thick incense and foreboding power. ‘Spiritual Elixir Drunkard’ intones the experience with a mind bending riff that incites a sense of enlightened intoxication, after which ‘Eternal Trip/The 4-th Plateau’ is achieved and the listener is lulled into a state of intense meditation. The title track rips the world of the summoner in complete oblivion. The last track, ‘Smouldering Embers/Pyromagic’ is as if one has been transported to a hellish dimension, everything being turned upside and the foundation of existence does not feel altogether stable. It is as if they brought forth a sonic titan from the depths of hell they could not quite control sonically.
Megalith Levitation has achieved something darkly meditative with Acid Doom Rites. It is a special entrancing experience that one would associate with the likes of OM and Bong, yet maintains a soul crushing sense of unique heaviness.
Acid Doom Rites is out now and can be purchased here.
Words: Garrett A. Tanner
