For years now, I have been fascinated by long-form doom metal that takes the style to extremes. It tends to be from the niche realm of funeral doom metal where we get such releases on any sort of a basis no matter how inconsistent it may be, but it’s not the only source of that ambitious material from what I’ve found. Not everything needs to be a monolithic one-track album like Bell Witch’s “Mirror Reaper” nor do I hold constant hope of a band like Eremit coming around to take the throne of what the modern scene is possible of. The latter is especially true because from what I have been able to gather over the years, the only band that can one-up Eremit is Eremit. Everything about the German act has made them one of the absolute need-to-know acts throughout the whole of the doom and sludge metal worlds, and I’ve been very happy to witness many others agreeing with me as the band’s reputation has only become more storied with each passing release for one reason or another. It has been two years since we last heard from the band, their long stretch without new material yet, but it is now that they rise once more from their shadows to take us back into the mythological realm for their most ambitious opus yet.

We could sit here all day and talk about the overall musical experience between all the members of Eremit, but just to narrow down that scope to their time in metal is to still take a lot into consideration. The very threads of Eremit could theoretically be traced back to the only album that Dragged has ever put out, “We Summon”, which very much feels like a prelude to what Eremit was all about including the long songs, grand atmospheres, and supreme heaviness. But it was “Carrier of Weight” that showed us what exactly Eremit had in store for us with their own mythological realm that is utterly epic in scope with the riffs, a presence that feels unbelievably thick, and the craftsmanship to put together songs that stretched well over twenty minutes and make it work spectacularly. The following EP of “Desert of Ghouls” and “Bearer of Many Names” after that in the years to follow only continued Eremit’s streak of domination, but those who kept close to the story between these works as best they could have no choice but to fathom wherever the story that Eremit told would take them.

To put it briefly in broad strokes from the best I can collect: we follow the story of a hermit that lived his entire life knowing nothing but an unending ocean, but it was the whispers of a far-off being that compelled him to craft an otherworldly cocoon that led him eventually to Land. After coming ashore, a great wizard is met deep within an ancient grotto where our hero then eventually gets a sword of legendary power. Then crossing the desert and making it to the city of Râsh-il-nûm where he and his companions set out further on the quest where they came across unnamed clans in lands unknown before setting out further into the world. That’s the best I could ever hope to cram 150 minutes of Eremit’s massive mythology into three sentences that barely do justice, but that’s the best I can gather of where we left off in this grand quest for some goal that I’m still not quite sure of. Either way, Eremit’s gripping storytelling is undeniable and many of us were wondering where the story can be headed next. After losing myself in “Wearer of Numerous Forms” for hours, I am sad to report that I may not have a clue where the story goes, but the music that is the vessel for such a tale is nigh on staggering in every form.

If “Carrier of Weight” and “Bearer of Many Names” was what it meant to really take the style to its limits, “Wearer of Numerous Forms” is what happens when masters of the craft put together an experience that cannot be likened to anything else out there. A magnificent double album of three tracks that span over two hours in length, to say that this is Eremit’s most ambitious and daring work yet is to barely even scratch the surface of what’s going on here. Just the first track alone, “Conflicting Aspects of Reality”, is enough for a mind-bending release of its own. With a 63-minute runtime, the song alone stands toe-to-toe with Eremit’s previous two full-lengths with the following two tracks of 21 minutes and 47 minutes showing us that if Eremit wasn’t playing around before, it is now that they come to us with deadly intent! Take everything that Eremit has ever done up to this point, amplify it tenfold, and jut it outward in a terrific display of power and tenacity to get “Wearer of Numerous Forms” as it stands as Eremit’s boldest work to date that doesn’t just signal the end of the first trilogy cycle for Eremit, but cements the fact that Eremit is an entity the likes of which I don’t think there is any true equal or apt comparison to.

Should the very run times of each song not make it obvious, this is an album built for the committed and the patient listener. Much like their previous creations, Eremit makes damn sure that should the listener fully immerse themselves into the world that Eremit has painstakingly crafted by hand, the payoff is no less than immense. From a particularly vicious breed of intensity that can only be found in the most dangerous of sludge metal to long dark passages that provide immense contrast to soul-snuffing riffs that only pull you further into the work as a whole, “Wearer of Numerous Forms” is truly the culmination of what Eremit has become up to this point with it all being refined by musicians that have matured a great deal in just the last two years such that I wouldn’t be shocked to see anyone claim this to be the band’s magnum opus, one of the year’s biggest albums, or both. The sheer combination of all of this new material that is not afraid to make melodic callbacks to what has come before as if to reflect on all that has led up to the present is captivating with even the long halls where no lyric calls home something to behold as Eremit’s many different forms of storytelling seem to know no bounds. The very world of these albums is opened up yet again before our eyes and even if you find yourself not understanding a single word as I do, the vast array of sights and visages that are brought before us as Eremit’s weaving of the land shifts by the very notes they play are utterly spectacular to witness for the senses. This is a record that lets the mind wander with a good deal of freedom before the very power of Eremit crashes you back into the journey of “Wearer of Numerous Forms” for this is their world. This is their legend. We don’t know what will happen next, and that makes everything the very pinnacle of enthralling. And none of that is even considering the simple yet haunting trumpet thrown into the mix to not just make this double album astounding to behold, but haunting to experience.

Even if you’re the type of person who doesn’t go for these kinds of albums, you have to admit that everything that has gone into “Wearer of Numerous Forms” is wondrously impressive. This is what Eremit has been building up to over the last four years, and I don’t think I have to be the one to tell you that such a build-up has paid off spectacularly! This is the culmination of everything that Eremit has ever done with fans new and old more than guaranteed to find naught but raw, unfettered excellence at every turn in these three utterly massive pieces. I have no doubt that “Wearer of Numerous Forms” is destined to be hailed as one of the most undeniable and massive creations that 2023 has to offer. I am still trying to get my way past the new Esoctrilihum record who has its own runtime of over two hours, and now Eremit throws down this utter beast!

No matter what comes next, “Wearer of Numerous Forms” is a landmark for Eremit, and the modern state of the genre as a whole for all that is brought forth truly tempts the mind to call this trio at the very forefront of the offensive of global sludge-doom metal. That would be misleading, though! Eremit is an entity and beast all its own that defies convention and comparison to its contemporaries. There is naught like them elsewhere nor are we hoping to find an experience as godly as “Wearer of Numerous Forms” anywhere else. It’s not likely we’ll come across another work, either. At least, not until Eremit rises once more to start their second cycle.

“Wearer of Numerous Forms” releases on June 6th via Drei Gleichen and Fucking Kill Records!

LISTEN to Eremit on Bandcamp here.

LISTEN to a 16-minute clip from “Wearer of Numerous Forms” via Deaf Forever here.

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