Split releases aren’t a vanished art form, but we don’t stumble upon standout specimens as often as we used to. When two distinct yet complementary acts come together on a single release, they can produce something with a singular, resonant voice. That’s exactly what Planning For Burial and Psalm achieve on their latest split, which drops today via the label associated with Portrayal Of Guilt.
Planning For Burial is Thom Wasluck’s Pennsylvania-based, solo experimental metal project. He re-emerged last year with It’s Closeness, It’s Easy, marking his first proper full-length in eight years. Before that, he contributed to Your Voice Is Not Enough, a Low tribute compilation released by The Flenser. You can hear a thread of Low’s influence in the new split track by Planning For Burial, “R.W.H.”: a seven-minute piece that unfurls with a patient, beauty-tinged drone-rock vibe, gradually expanding as it moves.
The other half of the duo, Psalm, is a New York trio that hasn’t been around for long. Their self-titled debut EP appeared just last year. On this split, their track “The Shroud Of Want” marks my first exposure to the band, and it’s relentlessly thrilling. Both tracks on the split run long, but Psalm’s entry feels markedly more ferocious, even as it sits in a compatible space with Planning For Burial’s offering. Rather than latching onto a tense mood, Psalm goes straight for catharsis, composing a howling, expansive piece that threads together elements of screamo and doom metal. It’s the kind of track that compels you to pay attention to a band you might not have known before. Listen to both sides of the split below.
Planning For Burial and Psalm’s split is available now through Portrayal Of Guilt Records.
