(Advance Copy) Morag Tong - Grieve

Picture yourself on an abandoned shore or at the center of a lonesome valley defined by craggy, wild hills. At the edges of your vision, a thick and ominous fog begins to gently, powerfully roll in. Something not quite like fear freezes you in your spot. There is terror, but there is also curiosity. There is also desire. There is confrontation. The mist now stands before you like an unscalable wall, its approach never slowing, never ceasing. You open your arms, palms up, and welcome the embrace of this experience.

Such are the images and emotions evoked in Morag Tong’s “Grieve,” set to be released on October 6, 2023. This doom quartet hailing from the UK lends a refreshing level of sophistication to the doom genre with this release. While tromping around the very familiar paths of the swamp that is doom metal is a blast, the genre can often feel monotonous and sometimes uninteresting. Morag Tong avoids these pitfalls while remaining embedded in the genre, through their use of contrast. There are so many incredible quiet moments in this album, allowing ambience and space-filled melodies to stand against meteorite riffage. The result is a welcome balance that calls for deep breaths as you’re shepherded on this other-worldly journey.

This balance is also key to the album’s overall success as a listening experience as the music is also demanding. It’s right there in the title, "grieve." It’s hard not to read that as an imperative, an order you must obey, in the context of the album’s audio odyssey. As noted above, there is a seductive and necessary invitation to confront what you don’t wish to look at in this music. In a society built around the rise and grind, a flood of reality TV streaming options, and partying culture, media that actually invites you to venture inwards and sit with your emotions, rather than avoid them, feels like they are becoming few and far between. But Morag Tong’s “Grieve” demands just that of its listener, but—like a guru you may find at the edge of a misty pier or at the lowest point of a craggy valley—the music serves as the catalyst and guide as you venture deeper into its shamanic lulls and shambolic crescendos.

For me, this journey resulted in what I like to call “the good ache.” This album lives in the both/and (appropriate for Libra season that this album releases in). Recall a pleasant memory with someone you lost—the edges are now patinated with sadness. Recall the last time you felt despair against the backdrop of a beautiful sun-filled day. This melancholy is beautifully captured in the tapestry of Morag Tong’s aching vocals, bright melodies, slaughtering riffs, and trench-deep drum fills. While other doom metal bands might offer you a Sisyphean task, and mirror the unrelenting morass of life, Morag Tong invites you to put down the rock. I highly recommend taking them up and sitting with this album in vulnerability. Pain is a dish best served in company, even if that company is metaphorical. Let your body and mind be attuned to the collective unconscious this album provides so accessibly, and release.

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