AMN Reviews: Lords of the Drift – The Arecibo Message (2020; Stay Gold Records)

In short, if you like Sunn O))) and early Tangerine Dream, you should probably give a moment to the debut from Lords of the Drift. A 30-minute, single-track release, The Arecibo Message combines drone and doom metal with sequenced rhythms and keyboards for a heavy, atmospheric, and plodding journey through the outer reaches of space.

Consisting of guitarists Tomo Milicevic and Tim Showalter, guitarist/keyboardist Arjan Miranda, and bassist David Bason, this group lays down ponderous walls of distorted riffs. In addition to these overwhelming elements, short guitar and keyboard motifs, as well as further chording, flit around in the background. Thus, the album is suitable for detailed listening at high volume.

The Arecibo Message is divided into three movements. The first comprises the aforementioned dense walled riffs. The second sends the guitars the background and replaces them with keyboard textures over a bassy rumble. The third introduces sequenced patterns that support more spacious and varied chording structures over a faster tempo. In view of these characteristics, if you like your drones more than a little heavy with a few twinges of psychedelia and the Berlin School, don’t hesitate.