Crashing in with the lurching Barbarians Blood, a familiar cast of Sludgy Progressive Metal broods a stormy foreboding. Its gradual encroachment resolves with strides of Punkish groove and Troy Sanders' forlorn cries. With a meaty storm of metallic might finding intrigue through avenues other than barbaric brutality, Marrow Deep marks a lengthy wait for these seasons veterans to return. On first listen this cast of tense gloom laden creativity felt deeply satisfying. Its colorful outbursts of Psychedelia and analogue Synth tangents a keen flash of color in a bleak pan. With repetitious listens, the dance between dreary turbulence and melancholic reprieve tires on the Metal riffing front. Perhaps with curation it could be cast as slack that weighs down.
At a meaty sixty five minutes, Marrow Deep is stuffed with magical relief nestled within its elegiac song craft. Harmonious and rapturous, one gets swept up by its subtle shifts to soft luminosity. The songs never gets carried away with their selves, feeling anchored within a musical context yet reaching into expressive strides between the more dominant sombre tone. This counteracting inspirational source feels mostly drawn from the past, adding a mature touch, a sort of nostalgia Rock akin to Ghost yet more from the 70s Prog Rock lane. The frequent arrival of effervescence guitar solos especially reflect allures to that golden era, yet with their own character firmly intact.
Ultimately, Marrow Deep is a wild vision realized by seasoned musicians. With such resonant craft, its magnetic atmospheres seem daunting in duration. It battles the ever hastening treadmill of life, one's own patience worn thin by its shadier lingering passages... Yet when sat down to ponder the experience, analyze and reflect, it's difficult to actually critique. These twelve songs are all unique characters exploring a grandiose that's subtle and buried within the average of its temperament. It's worth the commitment every single time, a great album experience to get caught up in. That being said, its two concluding cuts feel structurally ambitious for what they offer.
Rating 7/10