By Andrew Bansal
In the past four years, Los Angeles death/doom metal group Pendulous have risen and come forward as one of the city’s worthiest flagbearers of the sub-genre, purely based on the strength of their 20-minute ‘Mirrored Confessions’ EP (2013) and mesmerizing live rituals. After investing much time, creative thought and deliberation on their next batch of material, Pendulous independently released their debut full-length studio album ‘A Palpable Sense Of Love & Loss’ in March 2015, a 60-minute slab filled to the brim with darkness, power and finesse.
The album begins with an intro piece called ‘Shame’, comprising a thought-provoking spoken-word passage wherein the vocalist exudes genuine expression and emotion, and sets the right tone for this beautifully depressing 7-track endeavor. The push and pull between crushing heavy segments and ethereal mellow arrangements is evident on every tune, very much reminiscent of the likes of Enslaved. ’40 Years’ serves as the ideal pivotal element around which everything else revolves, and even though this is very much an album lover’s album that’s best listened to as a single 60-minute piece, this tune stands out as the creative highlight, with ‘Hibernal Sun’ and ‘Closure’ not far behind.
The vocals and the guitars are excellent in both the clean and distorted variants, while the rhythm section stays heavy throughout. Among the Los Angeles faithful as well as those beyond that have been fortunate enough to witness the band in person, Pendulous are reputed for incredibly intense performances, and that quality has been captured to the fullest on this album. This is the kind of musicianship that possesses the power to paint pictures in the minds of those listening to it, and beyond the realms of heavy/doom/death metal, it could also qualify as a great candidate for noir-type soundtracks.
People that berate and ridicule the Los Angeles music community because of its colorful history and ignorantly assume that every band is a Guns ‘N Roses ripoff, need to smell the caffeine and familiarize themselves with bands like Pendulous, who already are and will remain in the forefront of the city’s real music scene. ‘A Palpable Sense Of Love & Loss’ is an otherworldly gem.
Rating: 9.5/10
Release Date: March 2015
Track Listing:
01. Shame
02. A Faltering Will
03. 40 Years
04. Pendant World
05. Hibernal Sun
06. Closure
07. Memoirs
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