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Music

PREMIERE: Depressive Black Metal Duo Dhampyr's Beguiling New Album Is as Evil as It Is Beautiful

Listen to the Connecticut duo's eerie new LP 'Oceanclots' in its entirety.

Photo by Kel Marasco

Dhampyr currently consists of two musicians—multiinstrumentalist HL and bassist E—who have done their damndest to create one of 2015's most unsettling and immersive listening experiences. At first, they seem pretty harmless; the first few tracks on their latest album, Oceanclots, lull a listener into a dozy, depressive haze. However, when the eerie, demonic orations on "A Kodak of Guncotton Shipwrecks" kick in, and you notice that the band's sole interest as listed on its Facebook page is "heroin," you'll realize you've been had. There is a palpable sense of malevolence coursing through this release, disguised by delicate finger-picking and soothing waves of distortion.

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For all its evil intent and disarming Dadaist aethetic, Oceanclots as a whole is an engaging, intriguing blend of genres that never feels forced or precious; the trippy effects and oddball inclinations pulsate gently beneath droning stretches of shoegaze, mournful black metal riffs, and sad doom melodies. If Acid Mothers Temple threw on an old Burzum tape and smoked some hash whilst clad in faded Katatonia shirts, they might end up writing something like this once the smoke cleared. Since they haven't (yet), thank your lucky stars for Dhampyr.

Listen to Oceanclots in full right here:

Oceanclots is out March 10 via Acephale Winter, preorders are available here.

Kim Kelly really digs this record, and is on Twitter - @grimkim