The Angelic Process

"...The Angelic Process have forged a unique and utterly massive wall of drone that defies genre
and redefines concepts of heaviness and pure visceral emotion..."
(Adam Wright, Crucial Blast Records)

"...I'm not interested in metal anymore... but I have to admit that your deep doom tracks proves to me that I
was wrong ! For once an innovating metal band!" (French ambient artist Sator Absentia)

"...a connection point between that more esoteric and atmospheric explorations of metal, indie rock
aesthetics, and freak-out guitar noise..." (Crucial Blast Fall 2001 press release)

"...the actual vibe of the tracks is one of the most ORIGINAL I've ever experienced. The HEAVINESS and
extremity of The Angelic Process just throws them entirely into their own category! " (Traitor 'zine)

"...dynamic arrangements paired with stirring, visceral ambience..." (Fan review)

"...heavy, beautiful, epic, overwhelming, and utterly unlike anything I've ever heard before..." (Fan review)

"...I am greatly influenced by The Angelic Process..." (UK ambient/experimental artist Aconcagua)
- as listed

Limited edition CD, Artwrek, 2003

"Horrid righteousness...infernal atonality...swirling, an UNBELIEVABLE ugly majesty. Pain stripped and pissed off at God, T.A.P. is THE band that WILL punish like a dom-master while seducing you with all the lies of a whore. T.A.P. is also the (extremely) rare band that can bring a tear to my eye (just one, and with the track "Crippled Healing" literally evoked a heavy heart within me upon first devastating spin). We're trolling the forrest of noise-rock kids (and I use "rock" very loosely now), with seamless fusions of EXTREME FUCKING HARSHTRONICS & SWANS' (multi-era influence really) explorations of insanity & desire providing the backbone (literally! it's woven beneath the mix ingeniously). Nods to SIGUR ROS still don't round things out fully enough as the actual vibe of the tracks is one of the most ORIGINAL I've ever experienced. The HEAVINESS and extremity of T.A.P. just throws them entirely into their own category! We're talking one of those bands that hits SO close that you almost get fucking JEALOUS (???!!!) to take part in it all. Here on Kristopher ("K") Angylus' sophmore bow he foists upon the masses what I BELIEVE in my HEART will be a heralded triumph of the very first actual recording of a sonnet from hell. This goes beyond cranking out one of my typically heavy-handed reviews on something I think is ace, or even putting in a good word for a friend of mine. This is an ESSENTIAL release, and HELL, a fucking ESSENTIAL band! "
- Traitor 'zine

THE ANGELIC PROCESS-'...And You Blood Is Full Of Honey'
Limited edition cassette, Crucial Blast Records, 2001

"A constantly shifting sonic sculpture of epic might and evocative depth, The Angelic Process embraces the listener with crushing, swarming drone guitar, shimmering dissonance, and devastating brutality. Following a similiarly unique path of sound construction as artist like Swans, Earth, Neurosis, and Merzbow, '...And Your Blood Is Full Of Honey' is pure melancholy and tear-stained relevation that builds into torrential walls of hypnotic sound that pulse with life and crumble under the weight of their own seething power."
- Crucial Blast album release review

If you're a fan of Sun (((O))), Boris, Sleep, and some other of the more experimental stonersludge bands, heads up! This is definitely music to get incurably lost and comfortably numb in.

Imagine the stark cold factorybelching hell of Biosphere, Null, Daniel Menche and Merzbow, set in the jangly, echoing, surrealistic landscape of gothic masters Rosetta Stone and Fields of the Nephilim. It's as if a band of plague demons remade the Cure's "Disintegration" album. It's terribly, dizzyingly beautiful.

To find out more about the band and to purchase these jaw-droppingly dark and elegant CDs, take some time to visit:
Band site:
[http://www.theangelicprocess.com]
10/10
- LUNAR HYPNOSIS

The Angelic Process EP the creatively, yet slightly predictably named Sigh should be a solid stepping stone for the US two piece in this fast growing popularity of doom, drone and anything described as any sort of scape. After moments of ambling through a void of unsettling self consciousness, the listener is then blasted with a wall of fuzz drenched, dirty sonic brutality only to be left naked, alone and yet subdued in the womb of darkness and warmth.

Embodying the harmonic quintessence of the likes of Isis and Neurosis, the atmospheric qualities of Sunn 0))) aswell as Akira Yamaoka (of the silent hill games) Sigh is a captivating example of creating soundscapes that truly transcend the soul to a zenith of inner realisation.
- ROCKBEAST.COM

The Angelic Process is the definition of heaviness. And, no, I don’t mean "heavy" as in some loud, dumb, hard-rock band way. I mean heavy as in back-bending, eyelid-closing, will-I-wake-up-from-this? heavy. Wave upon wave of crushingly beautiful noise constructed with melody and thoughtfulness. Admittedly, that sounds impossible, but it should only seem that way to those utterly unfamiliar with this genre built with sea-walls of sound.

The opening track “Sigh” begins very slowly with cymbal splashes and keyboard swells. But, by a minute into the track, the band has built a densely layered blanket of sound that has a slight respite at around 2:30 seconds before shredding itself as if it were a bird in front of a jet engine. If I weren’t actually hearing it, this sound would be almost unimaginable to me. But only just almost.

“Trance To The Sun” features a killer melody that recalls a spaghetti western theme. Further into the track the rhythm picks up into a heartbeat throb with guitar flourishes and heavy tom drum pounding. The final track, "The Black Arc,” benefits from having been introduced by the minute-long third track (“Mouvement With Mouthfulls of Blood”) as it comes in very soft and quiet. As the track progresses, it becomes the most upfront, tune-oriented track on the whole EP. Ringing, high-end guitar notes, seamless bass lines and propulsive drums, all layered into what sounds like a thousand tracks, take the listener back to track one. A very brief break in the track sets the listener up for another dizzy dive into The Angelic Process’s world. This is what Swans would have sounded like if they had formed 20 years later. It makes Sunn 0))) sound like poseurs in robes.

Significantly, The Angelic Process sounds more as if it wants to envelope the listener than to distance itself from the listener. This is incredibly intimate music whose beauty is seven miles thick. This EP is absolutely stunning.

Gordon Lamb
- Flagpole Magazine

The Angelic Process from Alabama create dense, atmospheric musical scenarios, fuelling your imagination in the same way a painting might. The feeling when you sit down and listen to Sigh is entirely cinematic and you can't help but drift into an ambient, chaotic world full of danger and suspense, blanketed by darkness. This is no Sigur Rós.

The two piece, from what one can gather on hearing this thick, heavy sound with little definition, chiefly utilise guitar and percussion along with keyboard and sampled instruments. Opener 'Sigh' comes in slow, a fog of noise, before a furious guitar sound emerges from the depths and throws everything into a hectic onslaught. It carries on its eerie introduction for ten minutes using elements such as strings and distant vocals and throwing you constantly from drifting desolation into the storm and back again. Then comes 'Trance To The Sun'. Think of an epic battle scene such as depicted in Lord Of The Rings, but far more sinister and unnerving. The dramatic tension that is built up here is orchestral in its nature, numerous sounds conjoining and separating, in no rush at all to reach a resolution. The infrequently used vocals buried within the instruments are akin to Maynard Keenan of Tool's softer moments, mournful and slightly threatening. Also like Tool is the use of the third track as an intermission rather than a piece in it's own right, before final effort 'The Black Ark' looms into existence and ends things in apocalyptic fashion.

There has been a wealth of releases in recent years labelled as 'soundscape', some of which live up to such a title and others not so much; but Sigh is the quintessential definition of the word. Providing you have the patience and the appetite for it, this is a truly rewarding listen.


Rating: 4/5 by Alex Phelan

- RockMidgets.com