The Canberra based groove and doom crew of I Exist have delivered one of the most glorious displays of straight-up, balls to the wall riffage with From Darkness.
The classic sludge sound coupled with violently primal vocals returns for another round of ferocious groove and ridiculous levels of brutality that never fail to get the blood pumping. The album presents a musical amalgamation between the colossal stampeding of pre-historic land beasts and the hazy demeanour of a hot-boxed panel van full of smoked out riff fiends. Amongst the most emblematic of this is the track ‘Heal Me In Smoke’ which shows off savagely wild drums and some of the grooviest riffs Australia has ever produced.
Some brand new strands of musical influence have entered the mix on this record, as there are multiple instances of psychedelic passages of melodic wizardry, most evidently in the interlude on ‘Sorrow On Hill 105’. This kind of ominous and atmospheric style hasn’t been very prominent on prior releases, and it really fleshes out the album and shows that the band is still evolving with every album they put out.
The album isn’t a huge digression from what has already been established with II: The Broken Path and A Turn for the Worse, but that doesn’t mean it should be overlooked. With a larger focus on piping hot leads and harmonies over the already brutally pounding rhythm section, this album is a must buy for any fan of the bluesy delights I Exist have offered up in the past.
