A Middle Finger That can be Seen from Space

I'm listening to this on my brand new turntable, and despite the fact that it's on warped transluscent vinyl it still sounds GLORGEOUS.Old Man Gloom were one of the earlier bands working in the neo-prog/mood-metal that is practiced by the likes of ISIS, Rosetta, The Ocean, Neurosis, Cave-In, et al. Yet they also mine similar droney territory as Troum, Jonathan Coleclough, and Peter Wright. Whoa!This track in particular melds the viking chants of the albums' first track (Gift/Skullstorm) with the slow guitar texture/dirge of early Earth, mixed in with some beautiful ambient twinkling that takes the track out wistfully after 16 minutes of bliss (and, as I discovered, is very suitable on a Christmas Eve!). If you haven't heard this album you should definitely check it out, as it perfectly melds super-heavy throaty metal with seriously beautiful ambient soundscapes, AND has a good sense of humour. Hard to beat that!