Sorry everyone! I deleted my brief post from the other day, just stating I liked some songs and giving a quick "I SWEAR I'LL POST SOMETHING" feels too close to the short-form content I'm avidly trying to avoid! But, as I said in that post, I have so much to write about on the back-burner! I have a few drafts (most in my brain), and a semi-taxing write-up think-piece incoming. I digress! I have been working like a dog, and I just got back from FIVE! days of being in Florida visiting Sam, which was super awesome (despite a day and a half of being sick as HELL). I got to see my dear friend Kira, as well as Sam's friends at a show they played, and just got to hang out. I did not bring my laptop there, as I chose to bring my clunky music equipment instead... So yeah! There is my excuse. Not that I needed one. I hope everyone is well and taking care of themselves in this new year!
I do have an unexpected amount of extra time on my hands, as North Carolina was declared in "a state of emergency" (tuh) due to an alleged snowstorm. So, I got the day off of work (I'm not sure how much excitement I'd like to show as I have to put in PTO to make up the hours...). Not much has happened regarding that. As of 11:09 AM, the weather is subpar (it's mainly ice, so it just doesn't look all that pretty, had a nice walk though!).
Cold weather in music feels like sluggish, doom-y, heavily reverbed, and forlorn. I have been admittedly negligent in terms of "negative" media, as I have been in complete avoidance to wanting to writhe in my own sadness, and whatnot. That being said, I can appreciate beautifully sad media, I can, the occasion just has to be right. So... what better time than now? Attached is a playlist I made some months ago that briefly encapsulates just what I'm getting at.
Within that playlist is a band I honestly wrote off some time ago, after a listen of their first EP, with only the title track, "And Your Blood Is Full Of Honey" being memorable to me. But yesterday, I came across them again, in perfect timing. Funnily enough, after listening to some Mates of State, with the SINGLE commonplace being both projects have members that are married. Other than that, I sacrificed my cute, lively, organ-heavy music for something contrarily heart-wrenching- The Angelic Process
I never have been too into any "doom metal" or drone, I'll admit to never listening to Sunn 0))) (though I do like that video of the guy stagediving during their set), the idea hasn't ever really stuck out too much to me, I guess. However, I am a big fan of the later advancements in the birth of "Doomgaze" or "Blackgaze", as stupid as those genre names are. Post-Godflesh project Jesu, Planning for Burial, and Holy Fawn being some important names of the genre (and whom are all included in the above playlist), it all circles back. It's cold outside man, I need to feel cold! What? Doesn't make sense, whatever. All of this to say, The Angelic Process pioneered this sound, undoubtedly.
Their third and final album after the introduction of M.Dragynfly into the band is a whole other experience. "Weighing Souls With Sand" was released in 2007, with a runtime of 57 minutes, with every minute being an immersive experience. I will state my grievance of the subpar production, but I can easily dismiss that as this was self-made, and if anything, it adds to the atmosphere.
The first track "The Promise of Snakes" sets the albums tone with an almost 10 minute runtime, with the first minute and a half dragging you along slowly, before a riff-y pickup and Kris' unconventional, shoegaze-like vocals, and a decrescendo for the latter half of the song, soon transforming into heavy, semi-intelligible sound. That's kind of the premise of the whole record, in the best way. The album taps into multiple territories, with the second and third tracks "Million Year Summer" and "The Resonance of Goodbye" reminding me of a heavier "Deathconciousness" track (allegedly Dan Barrett has credited the band as an influence). Though the lyrics are entirely incoherent, the voices of the duo replace any emotion I needed from lyrics with the anguish I can translate perfectly. Track 5 "Dying in A-Minor" sounds like bleeding out in the snow, for lack of better word, it's slow, it's painful, but it's beautiful. The closer "Sleepwritten" closes out at ten minutes, with a hauntingly somber piano and heavy dissonant guitars. That was The Angelic Process. Poignant in a way rather un-reflected.
After this feat of a record, the band quickly came to an end. After a second hand injury that completely diminished Kris' ability to play guitar (that is, without a surgery that required a 2 1/2 year recovery), he found that he did not know himself without the music, as cited in a Myspace post from October 2007.
Months after, in April of 2008, he took his own life. To be without the music, the one thing that drives you, to be without the ability to create is a fate I would never wish on anyone. In a post made following his death, M stated he had attempted multiple times prior, with his history of severe depression. She stated "I started to miss him before he was gone", in regards to his slow descent in his mental health that eventually lead to his death. That quote has kind of haunted me for days, it's sad, seeing people we love lose themselves. In 2023, on her birthday, Monica Dragynfly also passed away from reasons unknown. I can only hope they met again.
The Angelic Process is a band that deserves the niche regards they get, as Kris' efforts into turning his everlasting pain into something truly unique. It's comforting, in a way, the sound not having to turn to super-angsty, heavy music, but rather, something more melancholic. I don't like to directly wallow in what might be negative emotion, and I think they present that.
Anyways, be sure to listen if ya want!
Until next time
-IONA
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