by Patrick Haynes (@expertfrowner)
There’s beauty in the darkness. On Bloodmoon: I — a collaboration from Converge and Chelsea Wolfe, along with former Converge collaborator Stephen Brodsky of Cave In and Mutoid Man — there is more than enough of both. What started in 2016 as a live collaboration has resurfaced with eleven tracks plunging you into the cauldron of Converge at their spaciest and Chelsea Wolfe and Brodsky at their heaviest, or at least Brodsky at his heaviest in well over a decade. While many “supergroup” albums can lean far too heavily into the sound of one member or another participating, the shared histories of many of the musicians on Bloodmoon: I leads to a remarkably cohesive release, despite the disparate sounds of the individuals’ own music.
Of the three vocalists, Wolfe is the most captivating on Bloodmoon: I. Tracks like “Blood Moon” and the ethereal “Scorpion’s Sting,” function nearly like solo songs to display Wolfe’s talents, with embellishes from the other musicians to color the palette. The songs where Wolfe is pushed to the forefront are the ones where Bloodmoon: I feels unique from the releases of the respective musicians’ projects of their own. That isn’t to minimize the roles Jacob Bannon and Brodsky play, though. Brodsky mirrors Wolfe occasionally as the group’s “lead singer,” on tracks like “Flower Moon,” and “Failure Forever,” which sound like Cave In songs plunged into hell. Bannon uses his clean-singing voice throughout, but his trademark harsh vocals are unleashed like aural assault on “Tongues Playing Dead” and “Lord of Liars.”
Instrumentally, the collaboration is a logical match, with Brodsky playing bass — the instrument he played occasionally in Converge during the pre-Jane Doe days — and Converge bassist Nate Newton and drummer Ben Koller playing in Brodsky’s other bands, Cave In and Mutoid Man, respectively. Additionally, producer and guitarist Kurt Ballou contributed on Chelsea Wolfe and collaborator Ben Chisholm’s 2017 release, Hiss Spun. Despite the individuals making music on their own that fit into distinct lanes, these are musicians who have years, and in some cases decades, of experience working together, leading to a final result that sounds cohesive, surprising, and wholly unique at the same time. With a name like Bloodmoon: I, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before this troupe provides another thought-provoking entrance in their already-impressive catalog.