King Potenaz - "Arcane Desert Rituals Vol. 2"
Arcane Desert Rituals Vol. 2, the culmination of a two-album series from beloved Italian doom trio King Potenaz, is "doom" in every sense of the word. By that, I don't simply mean this release embodies a Sabbath-worshipping, fuzzed-out, low and slow sound, though there's certainly plenty of that going on as well. When it comes to the current incarnation of King Potenaz's music, it's more fitting to think of the literal definition of the word "doom" - "death or ruin" according to the reliable Merriam Webster - rife with despair, hopelessness, and torment.
King Potenaz began diving deeply into a more atmospheric, evocative version of doom on the first volume of the Arcane Desert Rituals series, taking their already well-honed drone and storytelling chops and expanding upon them both literally and figuratively. On these two albums, the band's songs tend to take on long-form, cinematic manifestations, and that's especially the case on the final installment of the tale at hand.
King Potenaz - Arcane Desert Rituals Vol. 2
On Arcane Desert Rituals Vol. 2, often haunting, bone-chilling tones guide the listener at a slow, churning pace through dramatic, sinister sonic visuals. While turbulent, energetic bursts are especially saturated with these evil vibes (particularly on the second third of opening song Sumerian Nights and throughout second track Lord of the Rust), pockets of desert-baked psychedelia tend to either express mournful emotion or serve as mind-bending, trace-like interludes.
The official music video for Sumerian Nights
As with other King Potenaz releases, vocals aren't always at the forefront of each song, often waiting for an especially powerful instrumental peak to appear. When they do show up, however, the voice of frontman Giuseppe never disappoints in its ability to switch from somberly melodic to evil incarnate at the drop of a hat.
All in all, the Arcane Desert Rituals series shows King Potenaz taking sonic cinema to new heights, fully immersing themselves (and their listeners) in the stories they want to convey and the cast of characters that grapple with the bleak situations that unfurl throughout the sinister trudge of the albums. And, in spite of the heightened focus on drone, atmospheric passages, and scene-building, the band ensures that their music is still filled with plenty of their signature bone-rattling heaviness, which comes in highly anticipated waves following tense buildups. Will this be a trend for King Potenaz, or will their next release be more in-line with their classic Goat Rider sound? Only time will tell, but chances are whatever the band does next will orbit around a damn good story.
Arcane Desert Rituals Vol. 2 is out now via Majestic Mountain Records!
You can read my review of Arcane Desert Rituals Vol. 1 here!
More About King Potenaz
King Potenaz is:
Giuseppe Guarini: guitars/vocals
Francesco Pensato: bass
Piero Schiavone: drums/synth
You can follow King Potenaz and listen to their music at the following links:
A massive thank you to Viral Propaganda PR for the promo, and virtual hugs for King Potenaz...thank you for being valued, supportive members of the heavy underground community!
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