Band:	Meridian Sun
Album:	The Curse
Style:	Stoner metal
Release date:	November 2023

01. The Curse
02. Lob
03. Wicked Old Water

It was just over a week ago that I was acclaiming Melancholia for delivering on the promise of their Clandestine Cuts appearance. One band that I’d given up hope on doing the same were Meridian Sun, but they’ve finally stirred from their slumber to drop another of this year’s best metal debuts.

I must confess that, prior to starting to write for Clandestine Cuts in 2020, I didn’t follow the articles with any degree of regularity, which in retrospect prevented me from prematurely discovering great acts such as Conjurer, Aeviterne, Hath and Iotunn. One of the few editions I gave proper attention to was the first Clandestine Cuts in 2018: a good article to have checked out in retrospect, as it featured Nug and Gaupa, both of whom have gone on to release solid full albums. The clear standout release in that edition, however, and arguably one of the all-time great Clandestine Cuts features, was The Curse, the 22-minute single-song debut EP from London’s Meridian Sun. This song was a fascinating and relatively unique-sounding odyssey of progressive stoner doom, and one that promised far more, yet with no social media presence, any news on ‘more’ was scant. Imagine my delight, therefore, to see the band suddenly appear recently in the ‘upcoming releases’ tab on Metal Storm, returning with a full-length debut album, once again titled The Curse.

The Curse 2023 shares a name and artwork with The Curse 2018 (and with artwork that good, why wouldn’t you reuse it for the main album), and it’s probably not a surprise to see that this new album contains the aforementioned 22-minute epic song with the same name. “The Curse” takes up almost half of the album’s 45-minute runtime, but is joined by two more songs that breach the 10-minute mark in “Lob” and “Wicked Old Water”. Both of these tracks, in their own ways, expand upon the foundation laid by “The Curse”; stoner metal and its cousin, psychedelic rock, are both still a major presence on the album as a whole, and these long songs owe a fair share of their existence to prog. Perhaps the easiest band to use as a frame of reference for Meridian Sun is Elder, due to the lengthy, convoluted tracks and some similar soundscapes, but in many other ways Meridian Sun differ from that great band; there’s no one band in particular that they share all that much in common with.

Those who were also paying attention to Clandestine Cuts back in 2018 will already know in advance that half of this record's runtime is top-tier, but for those that have yet to listen to “The Curse”, it is a multifaceted track with a whole range of different things going on: there’s lumbering stoner riffs, evocative clean vocals with a slight doominess to them, tranquil quieter passages with ornate clean guitar jamming, gnarly guitar leads and fluid songwriting that takes you on an irresistible journey. One band that does come to mind at times on both this song and closer “Wicked Old Water” is OHHMS, particularly some of their earlier releases; much like their fellow Brits, Meridian Sun make good use of lead/backing vocal call-and-response, and also offer a fresh spin on stoner/sludge that is warm yet indirect, and complex yet accessible. However, I think Meridian Sun are already demonstrating a greater knack for really satisfying and stirring hooks and epic moments, of which there are several in “The Curse”, most notably the rousing, triumphant closing few minutes.

“The Curse” is a brilliant song; neither of the two new tracks quite match up to it, but it’s not for a lack of trying. “Lob” has a greater orientation towards the gentler side of Meridian Sun’s sound, featuring a lot of cleaner proggy guitar work that culminates in an awesome sequence of sustained guitar harmonizing midway through; however, the metal side of the band isn’t downplayed, and the closing stages of “Lob” feature full-throated roars/screams and a pounding rhythm section behind the elaborate guitar leads. “Wicked Old Water”, outside of its OHHMS-isms, is also particularly notable for a delicious mid-song jam passage containing a lush guitar solo.

Not only is it great that Meridian Sun have come back with more music after a prolonged wait, but the album that they’ve assembled delivers on every inch of the promise that their debut song implied. Not only one of the year’s best debuts, but one of its best metal albums full stop, The Curse is a sumptuous collision of prog, stoner, sludge and doom.