(By Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker, Lead Journalist/Writer, RiffRelevant.com)
At the very end of last month, January 31, 2018 to be exact, a rare natural phenomenon occurred with that date’s Super Blue Blood Moon Eclipse.
The rarity is the fact that this was three lunar-related events happening all at once, with a Blue Moon, Super Moon, and a total Lunar Eclipse. The date of this was the more-than-ideal time for the San Luis Obispo, California BLOODMOON to release their newest recorded effort.
That is exactly what they did, placing their sophomore record “Supervoid Trinity” into the public realm. BLOODMOON and its members, Peter Tomis (guitar / vocals), Pat Mullholland (bass), and Jason Goldie (drums / vocals), are a somewhat well-kept secret within underground music. That is despite the progressive trio’s two previous full-lengths, Orenda and Voidbound, and a 2017 split with Trapped Within Burning Machinery.
What BLOODMOON embody, the aurally atmospheric, ambient-augmented encapsulation of transformative blackened prog and doom, is powerful. They flavor it with experimental, occasionally jazz-upped death metal tints and recondite post-metal. They elongate points within it to include psychedelic jamming, while others exude measures of aggression. Extensive ethereal planes permeate each fiber of these compositions, setting them apart from their superficial surroundings.
Much like their lunar inspiration, the music of BLOODMOON is phaseal, seemingly mystical, and ethereally lysergic. It hovers above us, arcing in the upper reaches where it winds, weaves, and curves about with myriad musical maneuvers. All while the acidic, guttural vocalizations seem to bemoan its words with heavy, haunting expression.
I invite you to stream “Supervoid Trinity” from BLOODMOON via the Bandcamp embed provided here. With three individual selections, “Pt. I: Deceiver“, “Pt. II: Adversary“, and “Pt. III: Illuminor” (though all are presented both apart and in one unbroken movement, “Supervoid Trinity“, on the digital download), the inflection and scope of this album is epic.
