Phoenix Doomers MOSARA Reveal “Zion’s Eyes”

I’ve been wondering lately whether sludge metal just might one day overtake all other subgenres as the authentic sound of the common, everyday Joe and Jane. Of course, it would take a big, sinking dip even further into dystopia before that would happen. In our lifetimes, we’ve witnessed the medium ooze from the heavy underground and into mainstream consciousness with bands like Crowbar, Eyehategod, and Melvins. A generation later, we’ve got bands like Gurt, Weedeater, and Lord Mantis taking sludge in their own direction, expanding its mucky presence even further in the Kingdom of Metal.

There’s another notable band I want to bring to your attention: Phoenix four-piece MOSARA. They’re not new exactly, more retooled from an earlier iteration dating back to the 2000s. Founding member and frontman Tony Gallegos remains the constant. Joining him on guitar (and occasionally singing) is Nikos Mixas. Bassist Christopher Burns and drummer John Quin round out the rhythm section. This wealth of talent spills over into adjacent bands like Twingiant, Beira, Authority Zero, and Secrets of Lost Empires.

Last year, Mosara made a powerful entrance on Transylvanian Recordings with their massive self-titled full-length debut. Now they’ve constructed a four-song juggernaut similarly nested in doom, with caustic, sludgey undertones.

The first track on ‘Only The Dead Know Our Secrets’ (2022) is a turbulent one. “Mágissa” is ancient Greek for a witch known to practice the dark arts (mageuó). The song begins with a whirling riff that oscillates like a restless moth, soon to be joined by the horde. You really need to be listening with headphones to experience this tempest of low-tuned notes and battering drums. The guitar breaks out briefly into a Cantrellesque solo, then we find ourselves in the eye of the storm, watching chaos unfold. Winds dense with debris encircle us. If you’re looking for a point of comparison, Conan’s dirt 'n’ bones ethos comes to mind. However, you’d have to go back to “Head Creeps” from that frowzy 1995 Alice in Chains LP to find a song this thick with weather.

The one you’re all here for today, of course, is “Zion’s Eyes.” It begins with gentle acoustic picking that seems a touch sorrowful. An ancient-sounding theme is given electricity and the first time it’s pronounced with a tone that sounds sharp, abrasive, even primitive. The full band pounds away at the riff, as crusty vocals share what only Zion’s Eyes have seen. Imagine a marriage between Monolord and Kylesa that’s disrupted at the altar. An extended meditative section has us marching 'cross the desert, journey bound to the Promised Land.

I touch the sun
I kiss the sky
I feel the Zephyr’s kisses in my eyes
I kill the sun
She burn the sky
She ride this caravan through Zion’s Eyes

I asked Mosara to shed some light on the record’s underlying themes, and Nikos had this to share:

The song “Zion’s Eyes” was penned by Tony around 2005, during the first incarnation of Mosara. The lyrical themes for this song and Mosara in general have to do with mysticism, history, and mythology. 'Only The Dead Know Our Secrets’ has an ancient Greek concept to it. We used a Greek bouzouki at the beginning of “The Permanence of Isolation” and at the end of “Mágissa” there is a spoken word part in Greek from the poem 'Theogony’ written by Hesiod, an ancient Greek poet.

Indeed, traditional instruments beckon us to the third track, “The Permanence of Isolation.” This tune is dark, man. One track on a similar level of dankness is Electric Wizard’s “Flower of Evil aka Malifore” – and this is arguably even darker. I imagined torrential rains pummeling the rocky cliffs along the Pacific Coast Highway. After several hearty rounds of fuck you! the song’s heartbeat quickens with adrenaline, transforming into something monstrous before our very ears.

The album concludes with its title track, a 10-minute doomer. The presentation of the opening riff seems to scratch some kind of itch for me, especially that low-end. Vocals are raspy and fierce, not unlike legendary NOLA crooner Kurt Windstein. The mood overall is downcast and afflicted, in some ways a truer form of funeral doom owing to its raw emotion. Almost imperceptibly, the song veers off into an extended trance, with guitar feedback cycling hypnotically around meandering bass and drums. A distant guitar improvises on the original theme’s remains.

And now, get ready for the single version of “Zion’s Eyes” by Mosara. Anticipate the release of Only The Dead Know Our Secrets on July 22nd, available on streaming platforms everywhere.

Give ear…

SOME BUZZ

The latest offering from the doom quartet delivers fuzz laden groove rhythms, dynamic riffs, and a progressive twist. Shrouded in an all encompassing gloomy atmosphere, Only The Dead Know Our Secrets is a smorgasbord of delicious distortion and heavy genre fusion.

Mosara is a Phoenix, Arizona based doom band that was originally formed and active during the early 2000s. In late 2018, founding vocalist/guitarist, Tony Gallegos (Enirva/Twingiant) reformed the band. The new members included guitarist Nikos Mixas (Twingiant), bassist Kristoffer Reynolds (Beira) and drummer John Quin (Authority Zero/Secrets of the Lost Empires). Mosara’s sound is a doom foundation that melds several different genres of heavy music to include stoner metal, classic/prog metal and atmospheric sludge.

In the fall of 2020, Mosara started recording their first full-length, self-titled album. Mosara was recorded and mixed sans any recording software. The release was raw, authentic, and heartfelt. Mosara was released in May of 2021 via Transylvanian Recordings and was well received among several heavy music blogs and websites. The band’s brand of “atavistic doom” was what set MOSARA apart from all the other bands in its subgenre.

In 2021, bassist Kristoffer Reynolds left Mosara and was replaced by Christopher Burns (Hex Volt/Bright Sunshine). The band immediately began writing material for their sophomore effort. Tracking commenced in March of 2022 and the new album, 'Only The Dead Know Our Secrets,’ is expected to be self-released in the summer. The album will be released on both vinyl and digital formats with the vinyl edition featuring a secret track.