Eremit – Desert of Ghouls (Review)

Eremit are a doom/sludge band from Germany and this is their latest EP.

I loved 2019’s Carrier of Weight, so much that it appeared in my end of year 2019 list too. As such, when this new EP appeared – two tracks, lasting 21 minutes – I knew I had to consume it hungrily.

Both of these songs are the shortest Eremit have unleashed so far, although by the standards of most other bands they would probably still be considered lengthy. The songs on Desert of Ghouls are the same kind of long-form atmospheric sludge/doom as we came to adore being crushed by on Carrier of Weight, only more compact in delivery.

This new music once again treats us to hugely heavy guitars, bowel-shaking bass, and pummelling drums, all designed to build an immersive world that the band can then trample beneath the impressive weighty bulk of the massive sludge/doom soundscape that they create. The band’s hypnotic rhythms are effortless to get lost in, and as soon as this EP starts you’re moving with the thick riffs without even realising that’s what you’re doing. It’s quite hypnotic, really. As for the vocals, these seem even more caustic than they were previously, while also being somehow more intelligible.

Desert of Ghouls is a great new release from Eremit. It lives up to my expectations after Carrier of Weight, and I already can’t wait for more.

DOOOOOOOOOM!!!