Time for some slow-burning, doomy post-metal. It's a good day for music that wavers between soft, clean passages and thick walls of distorted guitars and screaming. Of course, that's pretty much every day for me, but I digress. Ostrov is the subject of this particular outing, and it does not fail to leave a mark.
Tracks are progressions of pounding drums and repetitive guitar licks to an ever-growing tidal wave of sound. Long instrumental passages pave the way in advance for the hardcore vocal performances. There are similarities to many of the other sludge acts that have been highlighted on this site, but Ostrov prefers to draw arrangements out with more focus on atmosphere than heaviness. Wovoka carries an ax, but Convergence is a belt sander.
None of this is to say that these Pennsylvanians aren't capable of getting quite crushing. The end of “Tinnitus” sounds like a thunderstorm trapped inside of a bass drum while “Convergence II” is the rumbly, grooving sound of Leatherface dragging you kicking and screaming through dark corridors. Ostrov creates a journey through the light and the dark. Through the mind of someone seeking redemption while still steeped in bitterness and self-doubt.
Convergence is available through bandcamp as a Name Your Price release. Physical copies are also available. If you were in the mood for some sludgy, doomy metal to envelope you in distortion; then look no further.