I love full-lengths, okay? There’s just something about them. They hold gravity. Exert a certain heft. Have substance. EP’s and splits are all well and good but I always feel like you’re only getting a piece of the puzzle. Just a little taste.
Which brings us to Raum Kingdom.
My first taste was a sliver on the split they did with All We Expected (Our review is here…and sweet jeebus it was really three years ago???) While it may have blown our minds then, we secretly yearned for more. Now is the time for more. Everything & Nothing is that more.
“Summon” begins with a sinister reverberation through your skull as Dave Lee’s broad singing is re-introduced in the most grandiose way amid Mark Gilchrist’s percussion like waves crashing, Ronan Connor’s bass like rolling thunder, and Andrew Colohan’s guitars accenting lightning strikes. In other words, the perfect storm of metal.
“Dig” is Doom incarnate with those Maynard James Keenan comparisons still holding until Lee pulls a vocal Jekyll & Hyde just as quickly and switches to his visceral yowl. Then “Winter” is another Doom-y riff rager but takes a sharp turn when guest Mia Govoni appears like an ethereal visitor with this ghostly croon as Colohan’s guitars scream and screech all within the first four minutes of this fourteen+ minute behemoth. Govoni’s voice and presence adds an almost Patti Smith-like weight to the song as it lumbers on with more twists and turns throughout its’ length.
“Walk With Reality” is a glimmering dreamscape propelled by hypnotic guitars and Gilchrist’s slightly jarring drum beats while Lee’s drawn out vocal passages build to this impassioned shriek, almost like a wounded animal crying out. “Rebuilding The Bridge” begins as a somber slow burn until Lee can’t hold back any longer and rages vocally as the dirge beneath flows like sonic molasses while “Hidden Pain” goes for the jugular immediately during the ultimate penultimate track as this savage song, devoid of any comprehensible language, pummels you with riffs and screams and screams and riffs.
Closing out the colossal Everything & Nothing is the fitting “Struggle” which is vibrant and anthemic….and steadfastly seethes for almost eleven minutes yet doesn’t feel like almost eleven minutes. More often than not, as with most Raum Kingdom jams, the track feels like a journey. And like all Raum Kingdom journeys, it’s something that listeners will gladly buckle in for over and over again.
Everything & Nothing is out on June 1st. You really should buy a copy. Be the cool kid and click here to secure a pre-order now. For the latest and greatest on Raum Kingdom, you can check out their socials by clicking here and here.