Doom really feels like the kind of style where two things are constantly in a battle for overall dominance: heaviness and riffage. It’s a constant war between the two where each band takes on their own special mix between one album to the next over the many years that the style has evolved over the decades, and I firmly believe it’s in the realm of instrumental doom where that battle becomes both the most obvious and the most satisfying. Clouds Taste Satanic has been my go-to band for the style, but now, another contender has come to my attention in the form of Saturn’s Husk, and they come out swinging with their new third effort.

A doom act that manages to pull off a sound with any sort of a desert theme is far from a novel concept in any form whatsoever, but that doesn’t mean that it hasn’t still got some absolute excellence to throw around every now and then. “The Conduit” may not be the most desert-themed work that we’ve gotten, but there’s no way to deny that Saturn’s Husk absolutely conjures such imagery. The nine tracks that we’re presented here come as truly satisfying works that constantly entertain as they cover so many of the bases that a solid doom record is supposed to, and that’s just in the first few tracks with everything else that “The Conduit” is made of only bringing absolute glory to Saturn’s Husk’s growing discography that is showing more and more promise as time goes on. Between the dissonant riffage, the occasional crushing heaviness that’s beyond interesting, and musicianship that’s more than tasteful for every single track whether it’s a 10-minute slogger or a brief interlude that leads you perfectly into the next song, so much of “The Conduit” is exactly what a damn good journey needs in every capacity, and to say that Saturn’s Husk pulled it off would be a grandiose understatement of an awful sort.

This a gripping instrumental of doom the likes of which we don’t get often enough, and I couldn’t think of a better act to pull this off when it comes to the thousands of rising acts that the scene has to through around with Saturn’s Husk clearly being one of the best and most unique. From the very beginning, “The Conduit” makes it clear that it’s an album not to be underestimated in any form, and Saturn’s Husk absolutely delights in surprising the listener time after time.

LISTEN to “The Conduit” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Saturn’s Husk on Facebook here.