Smote — Songs From the Free House

Smote's (aka David Foggin) latest release, Songs From the Free House, is a heavy work of tribal drumming, low-register chanting, and dense electronica, with a bit of Tolkien-like mythos sprinkled in. 

Divided into five pieces, each with their own character but very much limbs of the larger beast, pay tribute to something primordial, Earthbound, not unlike other such endeavors on the metal-y end of the spectrum, such as Harvestman's recent Triptych trilogy, whose releases coincide with particular phases of the moon. There are wooden flutes (this is usually where I get off the train) and pounding drums, and a measured addition of electronic synthesis to round things out. Foggin is a master of the trajectory, composing with acumen and precision: the awareness of the final whole is deadly.