I'd never heard of Domovoyd prior to listening to them for this review. I was intrigued by the fact that there were but six songs and two were about 17 minutes each. The opener "Domovoyage" is a bit like Godflesh meets the Melvins after listening to early Pink Floyd. It has basically one riff through out but the band changes the riff from being quiet and Floydian to start with before getting loud and nasty with it halfway in. While the title suggests a voyage, it's more like 17 minutes of walking in place. The only difference is that you either tip-toe or stomp your feet. Fans of Krautrock might enjoy this song assuming they are into sludge metal too.
The other epic track is the closer "Vivid Insanity" which starts quiet and repetitive, so that you are assuming you are not going to get much more than that, before it actually gets faster! Eventually about halfway in, the band actually kicks into something. There are multiple riffs that are really good. The problem is the band is fascinated by feedback and noisy guitars that clutter up a perfectly good riff. The band do that a lot.
"Amor Fati" has two very distinct riffs that both are interesting but again are
more noisy than they need to be. The second track "Ambrosian Perfume" is a noisefest that reminded me more of the Melvins but lacking the charm of that band. There's also spoken word throughout the track "Caustic Afterglow" which does nothing for me. I've never found that to be interesting.
"Mystagogue" has a gothic vibe to it and is pretty good but doesn't do a whole lot. Overall the self-title
album by Domovoyd is a bold album but for every good moment there are just as many that don't quite work. I'd also prefer a cleaner, heavier production to hone in some of the noise. Regardless, I tip my hat to a band that clearly knows what they are about and didn't compromise.
