QAALM stream their debut full-length album »Resilience & Despair«, out today via Hypaethral Records and Trepanation Recordings

Los Angeles atmospheric funeral doom metal masters QAALM are streaming their debut full-length album, »Resilience & Despair«, which was released this Friday, April 15th, 2022 via Hypaethral Records with cassette version handeled by Trepanation Recordings.

Tracklist:
01. Reflections Doubt
02. Existence Asunder
03. Cosmic Descent
04. Lurking Death

Performed and produced by QAALM.
Music written and arranged by Henry Derek Elis & QAALM.
Lyrics written by Pete Majors & QAALM.
Recorded at Red Light Studios in Los Angeles 2020/21.
Engineered and mixed by Steve White.
Mastered by Maor Appelbaum.
Logo design and cave photography by David Huet.
Cover art by Madeleine Fleming.

Courtesy of Earsplit PR:

New Noise Magazine is currently streaming »Resilience & Despair«, the debut full-length from Los Angeles-based atmospheric funeral doom outfit QAALM. The premiere comes on the eve of the record’s official unveiling on Friday, April 15th via Hypaethral Records.

QAALM features former members of Act Of Defiance, Harassor, and Seven Sisters Of Sleep. Despite their collective lineage however, no musical comparison can be made to the band, who’ve forged a sound unlike any of the member’s previous efforts. Combining the crushing heaviness of sludge, the melancholic harmonies of funeral doom, with the atmosphere and intensity of black metal, QAALM manifests a gloomy, depressive, and unique interpretation of the doom metal genre like no other.

»Resilience & Despair« was captured at Red Light Studios in Los Angeles 2020/2021, engineered and mixed by Steve White, and mastered by Maor Appelbaum (Faith No More, Halford, Sepultura).

The record will be released on limited edition 2xLP (on Smoke Swirl, Silver, and Black variants) and digitally via Hypaethral Records and on CD and cassette via Trepanation Recordings. Find orders at THIS LOCATION. Fans of Neurosis, Corrupted, Asunder, Mournful Congregation, and Isis, pay heed.

Photo by David Huet

Henry Derek Elis (lead guitars/vocals) met Pete Majors (lead vocals) shortly after moving to Los Angeles. After attending a gig and later playing a show with his previous band Harassor, the two connected and sure enough there was talk of a potential endeavor.

The early stages of the band consisted of various musicians and the underdeveloped tone of the band proved to be partially incomplete. Something was missing…and after a while, things came to a standstill. Elis took a year off to focus on Act Of Defiance and write new material from scratch. After some soul searching and a renewed approach to writing, Elis laid down the first demos with the help of Christopher Jon, whom he met several years prior through a mutual industry acquaintance.

Majors ultimately introduced a second guitarist, Brock Elmore into the fold. After a relentless run with his previous band, Seven Sisters Of Sleep he would go on to forever change the dynamic of QAALM. With the addition of David Huet on bass, the band continued to cultivate new ideas and expand sonically. The initial objective of creating an atmosphere and inevitably maintaining a stern approach to a “heavy sound” became the band’s mission. Eventually they incorporated baritone octaves, melodic overtones, dissonant chords, harrowing vocals, and ambient textures to intensify the overall sound. Dave Ferrara proved to be the final piece of the puzzle to complete the lineup on drums.

Lyrically, Majors’ presence cannot be overshadowed. Implementing the echoes of his own personal experiences, depression, and adverse aspects of humanity, his voice in essence is the pinnacle of reason. Alas, in the eye of every storm, lay many questions, some of which cannot easily be answered. The definition of QAALM’s sound may very well be one of them. The band persists in reliance of all of their influences to help forge and perfect the aesthetic execution of its prominent core. Utilizing elements of sludge, black metal, and post-rock, QAALM would outgrow any breed of stereotypical commotion regarding style over substance. The band clearly has both and isn’t shy about delivering the goods.

“Very few debut records have this clearness of vision and a sound this thick and relentless.” — Decibel Magazine

“QAALM is a blackened post doom band that is a perfect balance between the soil and the sun. Their songs will engulf your heart while pointing your brain cells to another reality. Their music is all about layers and textures of the human condition that we all endure…” — Cvlt Nation

“…a masterful slab of glacial, creeping, monolithic doom.” — Distorted Sound

“…a dense and poignant work that radiates its own unique character and resonates right down to the marrow.” — Ghost Cult

“The dark beauty of the music on this album is overwhelming at times, and fans of funeral doom and melodic doom will feel at home here. Recommended.” — Flying Fiddlesticks

“The sorrow and punishment combined in these songs transcend the art and get into your central nervous system, totally rewiring you. This is a record that’s even weightier due to the human element involved, the hell and torture so many of us face every day, our pool of unknown strength the only thing really getting us through.” — Meat Mead Metal

“…a gradually unfolding nightmare of epic proportions that draws the listener in and suffocates them until they see visions of the End of Days… if you are sufficiently weathered and initiated into the realms of grim underground doom, then Resilience & Despair is absolutely for you.” — Wonderbox Metal

QAALM is:
Pete Majors – Lead Vocals
Henry Derek Elis – Lead Guitars / Vocals
Brock Elmore – Rhythm Guitars / Vocals
David Huet – Bass
Dave Ferrara – Drums

Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well