Loss / Mournful Congregation / Orthodox / Otesanek

***Fo(u)r Burials is a lost classic of extreme doom, and has now finally, reverently been brought back into circulation by The Flenser. Featuring monolithic emissions from MOURNFUL CONGREGATION, LOSS, ORTHODOX and OTESANEK, this four-track album reeks of desolation, the gnashing of teeth and virulent decay. “Heavy” does not begin to do these songs justice, the riffs stumble and crawl through an acid bath of feedback and distortion, dragging themselves along on broken knees. Funereal horde Mournful Congregation hail from Australia, and recently released a much-hailed compilation album via 20 Buck Spin, as well as news of a brand-new full-length and virgin US tour. With Despond (Profound Lore), Nashville’s Loss released one of the most painfully beautiful and critically-acclaimed albums of 2010, entombing listeners with a richly melodic, flowing shroud of depression. Orthodox’s ultra-minimal, droning, ambient take on the traditional rites of doom bleeds forth from Spain and belies the myth that sun breeds contentment. Otesanek, now-defunct and much-missed, crawled out of the filth and desperation of Philadelphia; their sludgy, crusty, unbearably brutal sound remains unmatched today, The quartet of compositions on Fo(u)r Burials are all very different, yet drawn together by a shared atmosphere of longing, sadness and disgust for that which we call life. The cult of death is calling.