Tar Pit Releases Sophomore Album "Scrying the Angel Gate": A Modern Take on Traditional Doom
Tar Pit is a Portland-based band whose classic doom sound is heavily inspired by greats such as Candlemass, Pentagram, Trouble, and of course, Black Sabbath. However, Tar Pit is far from a carbon copy of the doom forefathers. Not only does the band put a modern spin on the genre by infusing their sound with sludgy mires and psychedelic interludes, but Tar Pit expertly integrates energetic bursts into their songs that keep the pace anything but stagnant.
Tar Pit originally formed in 2014, but took a break before releasing their debut album, Tomb of Doom, in 2019. Since then, the band has kept busy playing live shows.
I personally didn't hear of Tar Pit until June 2025, over six years after the release of their debut, but I was immediately taken by their refreshing yet rumbling take on classic psych-laden doom when the song Bruja appeared in my suggested songs. At this point, I was thrilled to learn that Tar Pit was hard at work forging new material, and now, I'm delighted to announce that their sophomore album, Scrying the Angel Gate, is out now via Transylvanian Recordings!
Tar Pit - Scrying the Angel Gate
1.) Dragon, Dark Lord Dwelling Beneath (Part I-III)
This sprawling ten-minute track has three distinct parts, each heftier and more sinister than the last. Already, the cleaner production on this album is striking, adding a crispness to the powerful vocals, more reverb to the thrum of the bass, and sharpness to the spiraling doom riffs (which are particularly delicious in Part III). Part II is the proverbial meat of the song, containing the primary vocal part and the buildup of the narrative, and it could easily be a standalone track by itself. However, the inclusion of Parts I and II do make the experience more theatrical and, well...doomy.
2.) Coven Vespers
There's no reason to speak about this delicately: I immediately fell head over heels for this track. It picks up the pace exponentially, adding in a healthy amount of heavy psych and proto metal groove with a jolt of classic heavy metal thrown in. However, Coven Vespers is undoubtedly conjured by doom, made strongly apparent by the devilish riffs in the choruses. It almost feels a bit blasphemous to describe a doom song as "feel-good" in terms of its infectious groove and energy, but in this particular case, I have no reserves about doing just that. In a nutshell, Coven Vespers is dripping with evil yet is inarguably invigorating.
The official (and hilarious) music video for "Coven Vespers"
3.) Jubilee
Jubilee calls upon the Sabbathian heavy blues influence to create a powerful, emotive, soulful song. A stellar, ultra-expressive vocal wails passionately over a lumbering classic doom riff rife with mournful pangs. The noticeable but subdued addition of organ adds a spiritual quality to the track that amplifies its emotional fervency.
4.) Blue Light Cemetery
Blue Light Cemetery has a very sophisticated and engrossing composition. It begins with a mournful, slowed down pace and vocals that bleed with power and passion, nearly a doom ballad. However, the track quickly becomes heavier and naturally more haunting as the doomy main riff kicks in. Near the midway point, some enlivening traditional heavy metal tones come in, the bright and intricate guitar continuing to wage battle with the low and pulverizing doom undertow for the remainder of the song.
5.) Blessed King of Longing
This song has an exemplary traditional doom tone (with a lot of added rumblings, in typical Tar Pit fashion), and a captivating vocal performance that is a dead-ringer for Scott "Wino" Weinrich in many places.
6.) Scrying the Angel Gate
Just when I thought this album couldn't get any better, the title track came through my speakers with an all-out assault from all the elements Tar Pit has utilized on this stellar release. It's all here, and it all hits at once...the weight and rumble of doom, the intricacies and raw power of heavy metal, moving vocals, a steadfast and evil bass groove, and energetic, adaptable drums. This barreling intensity grinds to a near halt halfway through the song before it lumbers into a dizzyingly slow doom trudge filled with mind-bending, eerie notes of psychedelia, ultimately ending both song and album on a spine-chilling note.
Final Thoughts
Before I listened to it, I had a strong feeling that Scrying the Angel Gate would be a good album. I really enjoyed the sound I'd become familiar with on Tar Pit's debut and thought, "Even if they don't really do anything differently, this should still be a really solid doom album." Well, nothing could prepare me for just how solid...in fact, every track on Scrying the Angel Gate feels like a sonic punch in the face, brimming with intensity from every angle. This isn't the first time I've been blown away by the striking improvement a band makes from one album to the next, and of course, this is even more mind-blowing when, as in the case of Tar Pit, there isn't much to be improved upon in the first place. However, Tar Pit's hard work, attention to detail, and passion are absolutely palpable throughout the album.
First, as briefly mentioned earlier, the sound quality on Scrying the Angel Gate is noticeably cleaner. While I'm not particularly picky about production values, the crisper tones here did allow me to appreciate the resonance of each note on a deeper level, ultimately resulting in a more immersive listening experience.
There is also discernible refinement when it comes to the vocals on Tar Pit's sophomore effort. They're clearer and less muffled, allowing the powerful voice to come to the forefront where it should be, howling over the viscous instrumentals. This newfound clarity also enables the listener to fully appreciate the fierce emotion, unyielding endurance, and impressive range the vocalist possesses.
Finally, the songs on Scrying the Angel Gate have a more engaging and complex composition, often divided into distinctive parts and interludes. Each of these scenes in variably painted with hues of bleak doom, vivid heavy metal tones, the murky grays of sludge, and is finished with ghostly psychedelic vapors that come together to create a spellbinding canvas.
More than anything, Tar Pit proves on this album that the old school approach to doom is not only very much alive and well but is thoroughly appreciated by its modern virtuosos. The band brings that classic sound into present day by adding a significant amount of weight, an equal amount of dimension, and a hell of a lot of fervor for their craft, qualities that can be heard in each and every sinister note.
More About Tar Pit
Tar Pit Is:
Don Gonzalo - Vocals
Papa Stefano - Guitar
Poncho Kid - Guitar
Old Saint John - Bass
Mack the Professional - Drums
You can follow Tar Pit and listen to their music at the following links:
A massive thank you to the band and Good Boy PR for the promo!
Tar Pit - Scrying the Angel Gate Review: Video Version
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