Aaron Turner and Faith Coloccia's more esoteric, less traditionally "metal" side label Sige has been responsible for some unexpected, but brilliant pieces of dark sonic exploration in recent years, but with this LP, the most unexpected is simply how normal it sounds. Although lyrically it is as dark and sinister as any metal album, the airy feminine vocals of bassist Sera Timms and drummer Kelly Johnston enshroud it with a certain gauzy bliss that belies its dark content.
Opener "The Vessel & The Stake" and "Slain in Spirit" sit clearly within the darker end of the spectrum, with almost black metal guitar riffs and militaristic drums opening the former. Everything eventually slows down into a doomy lurch, however.With a meandering shuffle propelling them, the vocals strike that tenuous balance between being overly feminine and over the top abrasive in tone, a combination which sadly does not happen often.Both of these show a clear alternating between faster and slower tempos, speeding up to a more classic rock pace, then slowing down to that doom trudge.
On "Starless Midnight" the trio seem to move a bit lighter, and with a subtle guitar twang leads into some common ground with the recent Earth albums.The parallel is even clearer with its adherence to a droning, repetitive structure compared to the other, more dynamic and heavier tracks."Austrian Windows" also pretty much avoids the traditionalist doom metal trappings, with a guitar/vocal pairing that comes across as Judas Priest putting out a 4AD album, but its marching rhythms give it a distinctly different flavor of darkness.
The biggest shortcoming of this album is there is not a huge amount of variation from track to track, with most sharing similar sounding guitar and bass tones.Additionally, most either lock into more droning, repetitive structures or doom to rock and back again dynamics.There's nothing inherently wrong with that because it’s a unique sound, but whenever there is a more significant change, such as the more rhythmic opening and looser overall feeling of "Reaping Golden", the change stands out all the more.
Given that this is their first real album, with only a demo EP and split single previously, that sameness can be overlooked as a new band that are still finding their own sound.The combination of old school doom with lighter, almost ethereal guitars and vocals give Ides of Gemini a distinct sound in a crowded field, which goes a long way.I hope that future releases see the trio changing up the plans a bit more, but Constantinople is a strong opening statement.
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