It is a thin veil that separates us from oblivion, but a new band has formed in London that seems to walk the line. Conjuring an otherworldly kind of doom metal Lowen harnesses the power of the void to create their haunting and heavy debut album "A Crypt in the Stars". The band mashes up ancient Mesopotamian history and mythos with cosmic influences and sound resulting in monolithic tunes with their own gravitational pull. Music will progressively shift between tense, contemplative passages that are perfect for thoughtful stargazing and dark, heavy riffs that will get your head banging. Layered on top are captivating ethereal vocals that seem to travel beyond this world and into the next with chilling incantations on themes of gods and battle. The album opens on a Middle Eastern inspired chant that seems to echo across a desolate landscape and into the recesses of your soul until guitar feedback signals the incoming heavy metal dominion and summons a raspy backdrop to contrast with the beautiful yet ominous vocalizations. As that trend continues through each song it leaves you floating in a sense of all-consuming mysticism as though timeless magicks are weaving their way through the ether to command fate. The final track "In Perpetual Bloom" starts with slow and trepidatious doom as arcane power mounts with each passing minute until it reaches an explosive climax and the sound unfurls to be scattered in the vast emptiness of space. A Crypt in the Stars is absolutely enthralling - once you turn it on you won't want to turn it off! -Brandon
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