__ __
_()__::_ _::_ ___:::___ ___:::____ _::_ _()_
||_> <__::__> <_,_) _ (_ __) _ (_ _> <________:||
|| \/ _/ | \_/ | \| \||
|| | | | | | ||
|| | | | | | ||
|| | | | | | ||
|| __ _ | | | | | __ ||
|| ||\/| | | | | | |\ ||
|| || | | | | | || ||
|| _:_ixxu | _:_:\____:::_____/\____:::____//_:____||_____||
||_> <_____!__> '|_> _ <_ _) _ (_ <__! ||
|| \! | | \/ | \! /______ ||
|| \ | | | | | //||
|| __ / | | | | | \\|
|| |> \ | | | | | | ||
|| |------ \ | | | | | | ||
== |> / | ____:____ | | | |> ==
|| | / |\ \ | | | | ||
|| / ------ \ | | ||
||\__ _____/| _ _______:_____/ \_____ _____// ___________||
`/ | _> | _> | > | _> | _> \'
|/ |/ |/ |/ |/
! ! ! ! !
Artist......: Tar Pit
Album.......: Scrying the Angel Gate
Year........: 2025
Genre.......: Metal
Type........: Album
Label.......: Transylvanian Recordings
Language....: English
Source......: WEB
Encoder.....: libFLAC 1.4.3
Quality.....: 884 kbps avg. / 44.1kHz / 2 channels
Tracks......: 6
Playtime....: 00:41:16
Size........: 273.83MB
R.Date......: 2025-07-31
S.Date......: 2025-08-01
Url.........: http://tidal.com/browse/album/451338591
01. Dagon, Dark Lord Dwelling Beneath (Parts 10:15
I-III)
02. Coven Vespers 3:31
03. Jubilee 4:55
04. Blue Light Cemetery 8:10
05. Blessed King of Longing 5:36
06. Scrying the Angel Gate 8:49
Rebuilt after having spent a handful of years
reconnoitering all paths forward Portland,
Oregon-based doom metal quintet TAR PIT arrive upon
their own morbid fascination as they celebrate their
tenth year of existence with a new-found sophomore
full-length album. Sporting a balance of both
distantly cast sorcery and intimate incantation
æScrying the Angel Gateæ sloughs off their stoney and
sludged musings for the sake of connective focus
herein, a more traditional doom metal instance with
its own eerie presence. The result is yet afflicted
with an unnamable eldritch madness, a tormented and
meandering set of fixations wielded in service to
ancient and unknowable forces from beyond.
Tar Pit blossomed from the mud circa 2014 via vocalist
Mat Ortega and a lineup consisting of folks whoÆd
later move on to death metal band Coffin Rot among
other projects. Their initial efforts produced a
bluesy, buried doom metal demo (æTar Pitæ, 2017) with
some stoner metal movement in hand. ItÆd been a solid
set of songs but the unique face of the band would
arrive more completely within their debut LP (æTomb of
Doomæ, 2019) where traditional doom, stoner metal and
sludge all stewed into a murky but memorable enough
release. Guitarist Stephen Hoffman, whoÆd joined after
the demo, stuck around beyond that point but since
then theyÆve added three new folks including one of
the fellowes from Purification. TheyÆve taken a
general but no complete turn toward classics-inspired
sounds for this new record.
On æScrying the Angel Gateæ Tar Pit move beyond
general sludge/doom tropes slung together along a
blues rock backbone and now get a bit more weird with
it, stretching the bounds of traditional doom metal a
bit looser than oneÆd expect while showcasing some
admirable tonal variety. To start the three part
ôDagon, Dark Lord Dwelling Beneathö introduces a low
nÆ slow simmering psychedelic doom creep, something
akin to the first Electric Wizard record per its
searching pulse. As an opener it is curious as Hell, a
long multi-part piece which relies upon the tension of
restraintà to the point that it almost appears sung
through their teeth as it rolls on. As their ancient
madness rises slowly from the deep ôCoven Vespersö
pivots to something like æHallowÆs Victimæ-level
street doom, jogging through their summon of Fuzz
(R.I.P.) for an apropos guest spot. ù If those first
~fourteen or so minutes were your only sample of this
record youÆd have an offset idea of what this record
is all about as there is only the one song a la ôCoven
Vespersö here. The rest of the album is generally
indebted to 80Æs doom metal traditions, includes some
spaced post-millennial hindsight, and makes feature of
the bandÆs own sense for horrified scene-setting.
The heavy blues girded, kinda grunge-era feeling groan
of ôJubileeö beside the long strange trip of ôBlue
Light Cemeteryö bears some of the original soul of Tar
Pit, or, at least revisits the pocket where the
vocalist is most comfortably set though this time he
isnÆt so set aback in the distance. WeÆre kind of in
that early 90Æs underground, Rise Above territory with
the latter piece in that it takes some interesting
turns though it isnÆt truly soul-flattening stuff.
There are increasingly sour, deeper-searching pieces
set further down the road on the final third of the LP
and I suppose the real cut-to-the-bone ôepicö doom
metal adjacent stuff comes via ôBlessed King of
Longingö while the title track/closer (ôScrying the
Angel Gateö) reprises the long-winded tension of the
opener to some degree. The full listen all gels
together as a moody mash of old and new doom metal
sounds set askew of expectations with the band making
their most interesting strides within longer pieces.
As I go down my list of grievances theyÆre all pretty
minor here, production values and aesthetics are class
overall: The rhythm section sounds ancient enough
though the bass guitar tone could use a hit of grime
when it crops up in feature. The gate depicted on the
cover has a sort of AI or filter heavy upscaled look
to it which reads as slop up close, it works but would
look better hand illustrated. Sound design here is
appropriately split between the eras previously
suggested and this suits the groupÆs not-so-extreme
and generally intimate style with an ôundergroundö
trenched feel sans any too out-there idiosyncrasy in
mind. All in all the choice to stray from
sludge/stoner sounds has helped Tar Pit to stand out
in the doom metal headspace without making any wildly
jarring moves away from their general impetus, youÆll
still recognize them but this is clearly a more
inventive and weirding version of the band.