Vopat, Tell Them We Are Dead

It never ceases to amaze me how willing people are to shower praise on relatively mediocre bands like Isis and Red Sparrows, while deserving drone bands like Vopat go entirely unnoticed. Tell Them We Are Dead is a double-CD set that clearly demonstrate why Vopat is head and shoulders above their colleagues. Disc one is 10 tracks of rock-heavy drone. It varies from song to song, with tracks like “Last On the Sun” and “Middle Killer” having prominent rock and stoner elements, while others, such as “Summer Rusk,” are decidedly more ambient and mellow. Disc two is a single 30-minute track that embraces a more experimental and plodding form of drone. Synthesizers, tape loops, and distortion create a lush sonic landscape that manages to entrance the listener over the course of the song. I could go on about it, but my advice is to go track down a copy and see for yourself.