AMN Reviews: Clouds Taste Satanic – 79 A​.​E. (2024; Majestic Mountain Records)

Sometimes you just need a good stoner / doom metal album. New York based Clouds Taste Satanic satisfy such a need with their upcoming release, 79 A​.​E. An instrumental quartet (guitar, guitar, bass, drums), the band relies heavily on pioneers like Black Sabbath, Sleep, and others. Nonetheless, they traverse this well-trodden ground with a fresh approach. In addition to the obligatory heavy riffing, hypnotic rhythms, atmospheric interludes, and extended jams, the album exhibits elements of mid-tempo progressive metal across its two 20-minute tracks.

The story behind this release dovetails nicely with its content. Clouds Taste Satanic was asked to record a soundtrack based on a script for post-apocalyptic movie. The plot centered around survivors of a mass extinction event 79 years thereafter. While the movie has not yet been made (and may never be made), the band continued recording based on its visualization of the script – a soundtrack to an imaginary film. The result stands on its own as a compelling music-only representation of life after a world-altering cataclysm.

79 A​.​E. will be released March 1 by Majestic Mountain Records.