Formed in the late ’00s, Brooklyn, New York’s Occultation released the limited Somber Dawn EP in 2011. Showcasing their bizarre brand of creepy and haunting psych horror metal, the three-track 7-inch attrached a buzz due to the presence of Negative Plane mastermind EMM (a.k.a. Nameless Void) on guitars and backing vocals. With Negative Plane’s reputation as one of the most important US black metal bands today, it was no surprise that the band’s aura rubbed off on Occultation—their twisted, dissonant and progressively constructed guitar scales finding their way into Occultation’s vision of horror. But Occultation has morphed into a beast in its own right. Along with weird and unearthly guitar play, the trio conjures ethereal and ghostly female vocals, dirge-like organ sounds, pulsating bass lines and ritualistic drum rhythms. The band takes its cues from ’70s prog, ’80s dark rock, classic metal (most notably early Mercyful Fate and Death SS) and cult horror soundtracks. Their debut full-length album Three & Seven is a haunting, creepy and unrelenting venture into a cathedral of sonic horror.