Gog — Heavy Fierce Brightness: Spells of the Sun

GOG is the drone/doom/ambient project of Michael Bjella (with help from friends here and there).  Heavy Fierce Brightness… is their second release for Utech records.  What GOG presents to us here is a slow slithering colossal slab of doom tinged drone, all wrapped up in a lovely package with artwork by Locrians’ Terence Hannum.

One of the first aspects that is apparent is the dark and esoteric atmosphere that GOG is able to craft.  Starting with “Spells of Shadows”, there is a rumbling that echoes through each song.  From that a drone is created and we are taken on a floating journey through complete nothingness. It’s noise but with a delicate touch, like the sound of depression brought to life.

“The Opening” follows suit uniting sludge, doom and drone into an abyss of lumbering riffs and hypnotic drumming.  “Heavy Fierce Brightness” finishes out our experience with a slow drone of reverb and ambient effects.  It feels as heavy as it sounds, like the weight of the world crushing you with the ease of strumming a guitar string.

Guitars are used effectively in each song; presenting a huge mass of immovable sound.  It has all the characteristics of metal without clichéd lyrics or silly imagery.  It takes the most important feature, which is sound and makes it the center of all attention.  Yet through that sound GOG is able to construct an atmosphere that is supernatural and organic at the same time.  In the end it is another impressive release by a project that seemingly oozes with creativity.