It is quite rare, and becoming even more so, that one may be instantly enthralled in a tune they hear, so much so that one has to stop everything and ask “what in the hell is this, I need to know what this is right now”. Earlier in the year, popping up randomly on the Drone Shop radio was a tune that pleasantly caught us off guard and drew us in; this single “Death of Day” from the band Faetooth. The tune was an instant ear grabber that could not be put on the shops regular playlist fast enough. It was heavy, dark, intense, brooding, and beautiful all at once. Since the face melting singles release back in mid April, the shop has been eagerly awaiting the full release of Labyrinthine and now we finally have it. The record has been playing back to back, nearly nonstop here in the shop following the week after its release early September and has been the absolute perfect transition into the autumn months as the world prepares to rest.  Faetooth is a three piece group that formed in Los Angeles in 2019, so they have been around for a minute, though I am surprised it took this long for Drone Shop to cross their path, better late than never. The acclaimed group has a unique style of “fairy doom metal” where the motifs consist of the duality of beauty, and dismay of the naturalistic world. All while wrapped up in sick heavy apocalyptic riffs any doom enthusiast will love. Faetooth is Ari May on guitar and vocal, Jenna Garcia on bass, and Rah Kanan on drums. The trio; an absolute powerhouse of brooding riffage and face melting power. In a similar realm to the doom metal mammoth YOB in their connection to spiritual release and esoteric ideology imbedded in their music, yet never holding back; I suspect any lover of dark esoteric, and doom no matter how deep, or casual would appreciate what Faetooth brings to the table, their connection to the world, life, and death. And of course it goes without saying, the fuzzed out power rattling your bones.

Faetooth, in classic doom fashion, utilizes long drawn out sections that the listener may find puts them in a trancelike state. Even though the musical sections may be repetitive, one never gets bored or stagnates as the record plays. The trancelike quality of the music makes one feel as though transcending and drifting through a great cosmic altered consciousness, where the fantastic atmosphere leaves the person “going with the flow” so to speak. Not many records can entice such a response from long, heavy, beautifully destructive riffage; the entire basis of Labyrinthine does this flawlessly. I was amazingly impressed with how natural the record sounds among itself. As though everything on the record, end to end, exists exactly as it should, removing or adding any additional parts would alter the record to a point that it would not be Labyrinthine anymore. Ari’s low tenor airy voice, paired with Jennas guttural growls bring an entirely different dimension to the music. Sometimes the vocals are against one another, sometimes they are together mixing different flavours at different times for different effect seamlessly shift the depth and dimension to the music.

A primary pattern of the record is how it so easily sweeps you away to drop you headfirst into despair again and again. The opening track “Iron Gate” starts as an atmospheric drone, and simple melody that then proceeds to hit you in the face, full fuzz, no remorse. The riffs are heavy, the drums are big, the vocals are a perfect blend of beautiful low, almost folklike, melody and the in your face screams. Dropping you right into the single that introduced the record months ago “Death of Day” that immediately grabs the attention of any listener, and holds you there. How the song starts so intense, and simmers down to an angelic (almost tribal) theme that guides you into the large main section. Tunes like this contrast so beautifully well with songs such as “Eviscerate” and “October” that have this flowing, wispy, beautiful (almost folk inspired) quality to them. Keeping the sonic quality always fresh and interesting delving through the labyrinth of Labrynthine.

Faetooths recent tour for the release of the record has had wonderfully, and well deserved, reception. The group rolling through Hawthorne theater in Portland had an energy about it that has been absent from many recent shows recently. If they came to bring the pain, they surely brought it. Ari May, and Jenna Garcia both rocking Dunable guitar and bass filled the venue with a beautifully massive looming fuzzed out tone. The amps blend perfectly with the kit, the record is huge. The records production lends itself to massive guitar and bass existing together with the primary airy vocals sitting just underneath them, always leading the onslaught of musicality. The massive drum sounds are never too much as the kit allows space for everything to breath, making the big hits appear even bigger and more in your face. Rah Kanan takes a more direct, less embellished playstyle that really adds some magic to the record. Keeping the playstyle more simplistic and spacey lends itself to the records massive drum sounds, and when Rah does decide to throw some crazy fill in a transition it really does wonders in grabbing the listeners attention. Personally I immensely appreciate and enjoy Rah’s playstyle, never too much, never too little. Labrynthine was recorded at DungeonByTheSea studio done masterfully by Joseph Calleiro that has worked on some other large names in metal such as “Impending Doom” and “With Blood comes Cleansing” and the production clearly shows.

Unfortunately a personal interview could not be established with Faetooth themselves, though I would love to have them in the shop and talk about the destructive forces of their music, gear, and from where it derives.

If Labrynthine were an ancient deity, surely the record would exist as Shiva herself. The absolute perfect blend of destructive, hopeless terror, and beautifully, profound creationism. The record lends itself to the dichotomy that is destruction and creation and the balance that lies in between. I would highly, highly encourage putting the record on continuously, listening to it as Faetooth intended for it to be heard and letting the group sweep you on quite the journey. The record has so many unique flavours and themes, transitioning so smoothly from one section to another, one may get lost in the grooves as a wanderer only to recount the journey, asking themselves how they got to the point they are at because: “I was just listening to a beautiful wispy melody, why is my face being melted off now?”. No question Labrynthine is going on the permanent regular playlist at the Drone Shop. Faetooth has released an absolute killer record well deserving of its success, and one of the most unique and interesting Doom records I have ever truly heard. Eagerly, we await more cosmic shattering, fantasy, crushing riffage from the band as they continue their musical journey.

Music written and composed by Faetooth; Ari May, Jenna Garcia, Rah Kanan

Engineered, Mixed, and Mastered by Joseph Calleiro at DungeonByTheSea studio

Produced by Joseph Calleiro & Faetooth

Additional Editing by Ken Lanyon