Liverpool Black Magik Saints drive a slow-burning storm into town with their latest single, “Gravity.” The song is more of a slow unraveling of the universe than just a few minutes of music.
Rising out of the darkness of Merseyside, the quartet Frankie (vocals/guitar), Dan (bass), Peter (keys/synth/backing vocals), and Philip (drums/percussion) create a sound that is as much layered as it is cosmic. “Gravity” is a dreary affair that wallows in despair with bursts of haunted transcendence. The song starts with sludgy, feedback-laden guitar sounds and sounds like it’s emerging from a lost cavern, while hypnotic bass patterns pulse with subdued desperation. Frankie’s voice is haunted, a cry for help, torn apart and yet, curiously soothing, sucking you further into the night.
There’s also a ghostly celestial element to Peter’s synth work, acting as a spectral counterbalance to the encroaching heaviness. The play of textures, grit, and gauzy glistening takes “Gravity” above and beyond mere doom rock. The band doesn’t just play heavily. It feels heavy, that emotion, nihilism, and existential dread woven into every beat. Philip’s percussion beats like a nervous heart, looking for room to breathe amid the heft. “Gravity” is a melancholic number about hopelessness and occult longing. It dabbles in "grave errors in judgment” and the bitter feeling of meaninglessness in its rawest form. In that darkness is a strange form of beauty, a reach for some inchoate hope out of reach.
While Black Magik Saints are finishing putting together their imminent debut LP, “Santa Muerte,” to be released in autumn, “Gravity” makes for a resonating introduction to their doomy hyper-diverse. The band is also ready to hit the road in the UK, bringing some of that dark, shadowy atmosphere to the live arena with a bone-shaking intensity.