In heavy music, there are few names as highly regarded as Converge, Chelsea Wolfe, and Cave In. Each project has built a career that is largely above reproach, and in their own pocket of the larger heavy music scene.
The idea of a collaboration between the three—put more complicatedly, Converge, Wolfe and her songwriting/production partner Ben Chisholm, and Cave In lead singer/guitarist Stephen Brodsky—is certainly enough to grab one’s attention. The seven-piece had previously formed under the name Bloodmoon at Roadburn 2016 to perform a reimagined version of Jane Doe, to muchacclaim. But after Jacob Bannon announced that the lineup would get back together to record a proper album from the ground up, imagining what that would actually sound like has been a mystery.
As beloved as each project is, they’ve all occupied different pockets of the heavy music sphere: Converge with intense, intricate hardcore, Chelsea Wolfe with dramatic doomgaze and dark folk, and Cave In with a broad exploration trekking between metalcore, alternative metal, and space rock. The catalyst created by their mingling defied prediction. All we could do was wait and see.
The results are, in a word, staggering. Surely, most of us expected it to be great, but Bloodmoon: 1 is truly next level. It finds a common ground between the creative sensibilities of each project while transcending all of them.
To be sure, the musical center of the collaboration feels closest to Wolfe’s output—most of the tempos are subdued and sludgy, flourishes of strings and synths hanging in the air above the grit of several guitars and the triplet vocals of Jacob Bannon, Wolfe, and Brodsky. But there are also several moments of more aggressive and angular riffage, such as “Lord of Liars,” which finds incredible power in juxtaposing aggro-hardcore riffs with Wolfe’s soaring voice.
But what’s the most enjoyable about this collaboration is just how freaking good it is. In many projects like this, there’s a low-hanging fruit that you can see without even hearing it. Often, that fruit makes for rich and rewarding results without much fuss (see: Volcano Choir, Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou). But Bloodmoon: 1 clearly came through a patient and consistent labor. This was not a ripe fruit that was happened upon and plucked: it took plowing and cultivating and maintenance for it to grow.
The results are damn worth it. The record is a sonic journey through heaviness, ambience, and intensity that is wholly satisfying for the entire fifty-nine-minute runtime. It impressively manages to combine the collected talents of all of its contributors in a way that at once defies and meets expectations.
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