Cold Blue Mountain Returns with an Epic New Album, The Healer

Chico, California's doom/sludge heavy hitters, Cold Blue Mountain, have returned with a massive new album, The Healer.I reviewed Cold Blue Mountain's second album Old Blood for Popshifter back in 2014 and loved it, still do. The Healer is an unexpected beast. From the first track, “1869,” we have a whole different vibe with this sad, plaintive violin that’s then joined by piano and it builds into this heavy orchestral piece with guitars that very much remind me of Glenn Branca’s guitar symphonies. This is an instrumental track, setting a tone, but not revealing all the twists and turns that lie ahead. The next track, “The Calm,” continued to confound expectations while being wholly compelling for such a short instrumental, the literal “calm” before track 3, “The Storm,” where we get our first vocals. At 11 minutes, “The Storm” is an epic aural adventure. “Something Darker” and “Something Divine” really display how much the band has grown without sacrificing the raw power of their self titled debut album and Old Blood. The final three tracks, “Absolving Sin,” “Man of God,” and the title track, “The Healer,” continue to push this feeling of orchestral heavy metal, with only the guitars, bass, drums, and vocals and operatic in scope, unraveling a tormented epic that ends with five minutes of ambient noise that is absolutely necessary for the come down. At first, the word “cinematic” came to mind to describe the sound, but after “Something Darker” I knew that wasn’t it. Novelistic is the better descriptor. Cold Blue Mountain’s The Healer is one of the most novelistic albums I’ve heard, with an emotional depth and the way the tracks stretch, and give themselves room to breathe before plunging into claustrophobic bursts of rage. The Healer isn’t just a collection of songs, it’s a cohesive work of art. And it’s absolutely crushing. You can hear and support Cold Blue Mountain at their Bandcamp Page, https://coldbluemountain.bandcamp.com/