I recall sitting in my best friend’s bedroom reading Daniel Clowes’s Eightball, when Engine Kid’s mind-altering rendition of John Coltrane’s “Olé” came on. Needless to say, I’ve been genuflecting at the unholy altar of Greg Anderson ever since. The first full-length release, Forest Nocturne, by Anderson’s solo project, The Lord, is well within the infernal spectrum of his previous work, especially Sunn O))), which makes the fine differences all the more present. 

Forest Nocturne is stripped bare, allowing all of the riffing and sonic extremity to shine through, without the burden of more traditional song structures. Only one of the eight tracks features vocals, at the album’s conclusion, with the nether worldly burbles of Hungarian black metal icon, Attila Csihar – and what a closer it is!.

The carefully orchestrated non-guitar-oriented instrumentation – organ, maybe synth?, and thundering bass drum – is where the uniqueness of The Lord is felt. Midway through the magisterial darkness is a barely perceptible work of ambient bliss, “Deciduous”, that softens Forest Nocturne’s slow descent and leads into the succeeding drone of “Old Growth”. Is it possible that the Pacific Northwest is the US equivalent of Norway, with its towering arboreal landscapes and penchant for doom?

Anyone who appreciates a meticulously crafted, brilliantly-paced, work on the underbelly of the Hz scale, will find something to enjoy with Forest Nocturne. And for those of us who have all sufficiently geeked out on the likes of Sunn O))), this is a must-have.