So, guess who’s been holed up in basements studying old Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Silver Mt. Zion records?
Two guitar-driven East Coast acts split a three-song set by crafting sometimes-mournful, sometimes-furious prog-rock epics worth of their forebears.
Pittsburgh’s The Sea, Like Lead follows up its recently released self-titled EP with two songs worth all the same accolades. But, here, the fragile, post-rock guitars and A Minor Forest mannerisms from the trio’s debut lean more toward the eruptive, with glassy guitars trembling as the group works itself into a carefully plotted road.
Belegost, a sextet whose “Nightwalker/Deergod” passes the 22-minute mark, shows equal passion and precision but also demands patience.
If you give the group’s meandering and volatile instrumental time to unfold, it pays off dividends and then some.
When the curtain finally drops, if your ears haven’t given way to the volume, the clattering of buzz saw guitars and cymbal crashes feels like Armageddon.
Worth the investment. – Punk Planet March/April 2007
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