Arkansas doom supergroup Deadbird, who are comprised of current & former members of such acts as Rwake, Iron Tongue, and Pallbearer, were last heard from ten years ago with their sophomore album Twilight Ritual, but they have finally surfaced from the crypts with III: The Forest Within the Tree, their brand new platter of heaviness on 20 Buck Spin. Containing 8 new tracks, the meat & potatoes of this third release from the band starts with the massive "Luciferous Heart", a beast of a song that contains some humongous riffs and a blending of clean & growled vocals, segueing into the equally monstrous "Heyday", both tunes together clocking in at over 15-minutes of doom metal fury & might. These two behemoths pave the way for the remainder of the album, which features shorter tracks that lean towards a bit of Neurosis here, Alice in Chains there, and even a touch of moody Kylesa in spots, as on the brooding "11:34". "Brought Low" might be the most melancholy track here, as acoustic tones mesh with the simmering riffs, but the band dial it up a notch on the near hardcore bark of "Bone & Ash", a furious and violent number that provides the albums last gasp of energy before the closing instrumental "Ending".
Quite solid from top to bottom, III: The Forest Within the Tree allows for occasional moments of levity within all the crushing onslaught, resulting in a modern doom album from Deadbird that was worth the ten year wait.
Track Listing
1. The Singularity 02:16
2. Luciferous Heart 07:17
3. Heyday 07:58
4. Alexandria 03:08
5. 11:34 03:22
6. Brought Low 06:49
7. Bone & Ash 05:23
8. Ending 02:14