Black Mare and Offret showcase two different sides of drone. Californians Black Mare suspend everything in all-encompassing phantasmagorical ether. There is a feeling of disorientation, not knowing which side is up. There are three distinct layers to Woman the Throne, at least per my modest count. There is working warbling bass, doing more and more, creating the skeleton and foundation. Permeating it through and through is twangy withdrawn guitar, and atop everything there is sensual female voice, which becomes almost seductive by the end. Call Woman the Throne the song of a Siren luring one to his death through the murky fog.

Offret We Are Waiting, on the other hand, starts creepy and cold, with metallic rattling substituting for percussion. Amidst the creepiness I thought I heard Russian language whispers, and proving my hunch right, Offret finally roars with a very obvious Russian “we are waiting for you”, which they go on repeating like mantra. The metallic anvil gets going, hammer slams it hard, the overall push becomes stronger and steadier until all frequencies are occupied, the final nail in the coffin being a saxophone solo which I originally mistook for a distorted bagpipe.