Whenever I delve into the world of doom, I usually go for two distinct styles that I simply enjoy more often than most: long-winded and hypnotic experiences stretching on and on, or riff after riff that do naught but keep you entranced by their glory. But every now and then you need to do a little shift and just listen to something you normally wouldn’t. For me and doom, that means something loud and truly aggressive that’s meant to strip flesh from bone and energy from the soul, and Religious Observance fits that bill perfectly.

From the name of the album alone, you should have just a shred of an idea of what you’re to be getting yourself into should you decide to plunge yourself into this miasma of doom, sludge, and noise that Religious Observance has conjured up for the second full-length album. Sludge and doom metal have long been partners in crime as they’ve made many, many amazing albums together with that number still rising high every year, but it’s the addition of noise to this concoction that makes “Utter Discomfort” the experience that it is. While it’s the sludge and doom elements that are at the forefront for a solid majority of “Utter Discomfort”, it’s the noise that makes these five tracks the hostile wasteland of nothing but chaos and intensity which really allows Religious Observance to explore a rarely visited area of doom with this album. There’s little room for comfort to even become possible as Religious Observance does nothing but do their best to bring an intense, intricate, and somehow savory experience with this record the likes of which we simply don’t get a lot, and it’s a tour throw chaotic flames that doom doesn’t often go to but this band makes it look glorious.

Such raw madness can only sometimes be harnessed with such intensity and potency across an entire album, but on only their second go does Religious Observance give us something that’s an entity all of its own while the remainder of doom and the surrounding styles can do no less than push this material back in the chasm from whence it came in hopes to not hear its chaos more. But, there’s something undeniable and all-consuming with “Utter Discomfort” that’s alluring at first but quickly becomes something that truly makes this album come that final defiant note.

LISTEN to “Utter Discomfort” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Religious Observance on Facebook here.