ESSES – Pain at the Altar of Jest
Release Date: 26th September 2025
Label: Seeing Red Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Post-Gothic, Doom, Doomgaze.
FFO: Chelsea Wolfe, Esben & the Witch, Marriages, Frayle, Siouxie and the Banshees, Bauhaus.
Review By: Mark Waight
“Pain at the Altar of Jest” is the third album from Oakland born post-goth band ESSES and was inspired by their recent move from their hometown to Portland. The change of musical direction draws influences from their new home city, its surrounding landscapes and a major shift in the band’s internal dynamics.
Rebuilding their overall sound from scratch, ESSES now embrace several genres without ever straying too far from their core post-gothic roots. “Pain at the Altar of Jest” certainly packs a hard punch and gets the balance just right in terms of delivering a retro infused soundtrack that is fighting fit for the modern audience, where revivalism is very much in the ascendancy.
ESSES is Kelly Correll (vocals & guitar), John Chap (guitar, lap & pedal steel guitar), Kevin Brown (drums) and Scout (bass).
Dark and disturbing opener “Three Sisters” firmly embraces us right from the start with its hauntingly intoxicating vocals, whilst at the same time laying us gently down on a warm blanket of heavily doom-laden bass. Next up, “Mirage Artist” conjures up vivid images of a Himalayan Tibetan temple, with its beating heart of pulsating drums and enchanting gothic vocals expertly painting the canvas in our minds eye.
Throbbing slow burn track “Low” gradually builds up into a richly atmospheric and cinematic experience before the crashing cymbals and crushing vocals of the gloriously gloomy “A Greene Heart” take us on a marvellously melancholy trip down memory lane with echoes of the very best of the dark eighties.
The terrifically terrifying black as night track “The Twelfth Thread” pounds and furrows its way into our brains before “The Burrow” stealthily moves in under the radar, drilling and boring its way deep into our souls by twisting and tearing at the very fabric of our being.
Consuming all before it, the “Cavern of Souls” then continues our journey down into the deepest pits of despair and the darkest places that covet the corners of our minds before a beautifully bleak curtain closer “Crackedlands” delves even deeper and brings things to a satisfying conclusion.
“Pain at the Altar of Jest” is a valid and valued contribution to all that is good in metal right now, with one eye fixed on the past and one eye firmly on the present, allowing ESSES to bridge the decades in-between with relative ease. So, if you fancy kicking out, kicking back or kicking on then look no further as help is at hand! Recommended!
(4 / 5)
