$6.00

1. Tennhauser Gates 07:13
2. Shores Of Orion 07:38
3. KU775a 10:16
4. Pillars Of Creation 08:35
5. Reality Is Broken 04:04
6. Entrusted With Emptiness 07:28
7. Thaumaturgy Hallucination 09:02

Thomas Andrew Doyle, “Pillars of Creation” (Incineration Ceremony). The transformation of Thomas Andrew Doyle as hedonistic leader of grunge warriors TAD and doom-metal band Brothers of the Sonic Cloth to his current status as production magus and composer of profound drone symphonies is one for the history books. He's replaced bull-in-a-china-shop rambunctiousness for ominous atmosphere-mongering, swapped music for 12 beers for music of the spheres. Whereas he once toiled for Sub Pop during the Seattle label's supernova era, Doyle now sounds as if he's trying to get a deal with Deutsche Grammophon or land a soundtrack gig with the late Andrei Tarkovski. You can call that “maturing,” but I prefer to think of Doyle's creative metamorphosis as “evolving,” and in a most unexpected way.

Doyle's latest meisterwerk, Experiments of the Spectral Order Vol. II, finds the former electric guitarist and lead growler playing several soft-synthesizers, a Korg Trident Mark II analog synth, acoustic guitar, and using his voice as an instrument (along with his wife Peggy). The eventful, portentous spacescapes here make one wish Stanley Kubrick were still alive to direct a sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey, so he could use these pieces. I don't say this lightly, but this album's “KU775a” pretty much out-frights György Ligeti's Lux Aeterna. “Entrusted with Emptiness” is another fraught trip through pitiless desolation, turning Tangerine Dream into a Pomegranate Nightmare.

But the album's most stunning track is “Pillars of Creation.” It begins with seething synth thrums and anguished circuit frying, then intensifies and ascends to an infernal vortex of aerated drone the likes of which I've rarely heard in my many decades of drone appreciation. The song gradually tapers to a pathos-laden fade-out that sounds like the last hymn you hear as your spaceship plummets in an infinite death spiral.

Given the aural breadth and emotional potency of Experiments of the Spectral Order Vol. II, it's odd that Hollywood directors aren't knocking down the door at Doyle's Witch Ape Studio for his massive sonic storm systems. Maybe he needs Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe's agent.

released February 4, 2022

All instruments played by Thomas Andrew Doyle
Many soft-synthesizers as well as Korg Trident Mark II analog synthesizer, acoustic guitar, and various vocal treatments by Tad and Peggy Doyle were used to make this recording.
Recorded by Tad Doyle in Seattle at Witch Ape Studio
Mastered by Tad Doyle
Artwork by Jevf Kahn