It wasn’t until recent years that I’ve developed a greater interest in doom and sludge metal. Bands like Womb, Coffins, Evoken, Goatsblood, Fleshpress, Winter, Unholy and Disembowelment have spent more time on my play list than any other bands, and recently, the band getting the most listens is Portland, Goregon’s Aldebaran.

Consisting of bassist Josh and drummer/vocalist Tim from Tusks of Blood and guitarist/vocalist Mike of HC Minds, Aldebaran play some of the heaviest, sludgiest and most crushing doom these ears have ever heard. The music inches along at a snail’s pace with thick meaty riffs, drum kit shattering beats and vocals that switch between deep guttural roars and high pitched wails.

While the majority of US doom has a really raw production that overkills on reverb, the production on Dwellers In Twilight is flawless. Each note is clear and doesn’t overpower the listener with a wall of noise, all while maintaining the deep crushing sound one would expect from a heavy album.

While the album may only contain three songs, the album clocks in at nearly 44 minutes, with two epic tracks lasting more than 15 minutes apiece. The truly astounding thing about this album is that, despite the length of the tracks it never feels unnecessarily repetitive as the music flows smoothly and slight tempo changes and the variation in riffs make it so if you’re not paying attention you may think you’re actually listening to a new song every few minutes.

Even the packaging of this release is well done. The simple silver colored artwork with the slight overlay looks great!

Of the newer sludge/doom releases to come out in recent years, I’d definitely put Aldebaran’s full length debut at the very top of the "must buy" pile, far above new releases by Coffins and Evoken and considering how much I enjoy both of those bands, that’s saying a lot! If you’re in the market for some mind blowing crushing old school doom, you definitely need to add Dwellers In Twilight to your collection! Highly recommended! Written By: Teufel