By Deuce

Listening to Veil Lifter, the latest full-length release from Post Death Soundtrack, is quite an experience. Much of the music is hypnotic, as in ponderously slow tempos and a lyrical proficiency that creeps upon you after listening to the respective cuts for a couple minutes.

This trait of the album is counterbalanced with some moments of sheer brilliant instrumentation—including that which definitely awakens one from any type of deliberate lethargy the two-man band (which, during the recording of the LP, was comprised of Stephen Moore and Jon Ireson) imposed.

The bass line on “Lowdown Animal”? So groovy it could almost be for a funk tune, yet hard enough to rap over. Some of the electric guitar solos on “Icy Underground” (which just so happens to be one of the super slow mobbers)? Piercing, simply elevating the music with an instrumentalism that would stand all on its own, bereft of vocals.

And speaking of vocals, much of the hypnotic effects of the songs on this collection are due to the microphone manipulations of Moore. He has a bent for doubling up his vocal tracks and singing a heartbeat or two behind the rhythm, giving the tunes a somnambulating type feel. “Killer of the Doubt” likely epitomizes this characteristic, with its mid-tempo pace and thrashing metal guitars. Moreover (pun intended), the vocalist has a way with wordplay on the lyrics, which adds to the sleepwalking ambience of the number. “Like a man aflame whose name is of no concern I burn” he belts out on “Doubt”.

Other times, he’s deliciously wide awake and roaring with the conviction of conviction itself. “I’m a low down animal/ don’t leave me hungry” he rages on the aforesaid “Lowdown”. And, the way he sounds, one would best believe him.

As good as “The Die is Cast” is, with its broodingly slow tempo, surfeit of electric guitars on the hook, and more Moore on the mic, it’s the drumming of Casey Lewis that almost threatens to steal the spotlight, particularly on his breakdowns at the end of the two-bar or four-bar periods. Thus, Post Death Soundtrack is in good shape on the cue sticks, the guitars, and the microphone, which is an admixture for success in almost any genre.