“Lord, Almighty! - What are Lord Almighty up to right now?!?!”
“Lord Almighty!” - what a brilliant reaction when hearing a new band or a new music in general. It purveys respect and awe and shows that one is definitely in some way impressed (unless it’s utter shit and you cannot hold it any longer). In the case of Boston-based metal outfit Lord Almighty it would definitely be a positive outcry. The band performs a kind of black metal that is infused with lots of other influences, the NWOBHM probably being the most obvious genre and Priest the most obvious band.
The foundation for Lord Almighty’s sound is aggression but combined with a strong will to give the audience more than just the usual black metal templates. By incorporating black’n’roll elements in the vein of Kvelertak and fast-paced classic heavy metal passages the band is able to create a sound resembling the stampede of wild buffaloes with humans running away from them in sheer terror.
Interesting are those passages, where the Boston sludge-machine slows down and even goes acoustic so that a totally new atmosphere is created and you might consider their sound post-black metal but it is rather a kind of modern atmospheric sludge like Baroness on their Yellow and Green record. Naturally, not a bad comparison to get.
The band comes very close to releasing what could become a highly influential second full-length – following their self-titled debut EP (from 2013) and the full-length debut Paths (2015). As their approach is pretty variable they should invest a bit more next time and go all the way and create a great piece of atmospheric black metal with twists and turns. With Wither they deliver a great promise and hint at what might come in a few years.
