''Weighing Souls with Sand'' is the second studio album by the Angelic Process.

Background

The Angelic Process is a music project started by Kris Angylus in

Athens, Georgia Athens is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Downtown Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta. The University of Georgia, the state's flagship public university and an Research I university, ...

in 1999, specializing in

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...

and

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

music. Angylus's wife, Monica Dragynfly, joined him in 2005. According to Angylus, two of his albums, ''Coma Waering'' (2002) and ''Weighing Souls with Sand'', were directly influenced by his experiences; his first girlfriend died in a car accident in 2000, as reflected in ''Coma Waering'', and ''Weighing Souls with Sand'' reflects Angylus's grief and suicidal ideation following his girlfriend's death. ''Weighing Souls with Sand'' was recorded in Metanoia Studios from February–October 2006 and mastered by Black Ark Mastering, before being released on CD by

Profound Lore Records Profound Lore Records is a Canadian independent record label founded in May 2004. The label primarily focuses on releasing extreme metal and experimental albums. It "began as the 'hobby-like venture' of a few friends but, over the past six year ...

on May 15, 2007. Roadburn Records released the album on vinyl on September 24, 2007, with a print run of 500 copies.

Composition

''Weighing Souls with Sand'' is the sequel to the Angelic Process's prior album ''Coma Waering'', in which a man dies while in a coma. ''Weighing Souls with Sand'' centers around the man's wife, grieving over her husband's death before committing suicide. It has been described as drone metal,

ambient Ambient or ambiance or ambience may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Ambiancé'', an unreleased experimental film * ''Ambient'' (novel), a novel by Jack Womack Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgr ...

, and

, heavily influenced by My Bloody Valentine. ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' notes that the album takes elements from multiple different bands such as Boris,

Swans Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometim ...

Godflesh Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham. The group formed in 1982 under the original title O.P.D. (later Fall of Because) but did not release any complete music until 1988 when Justin Broadrick (guitar, vocals, programmi ...

Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

, and My Bloody Valentine.

Reception

''Weighing Souls with Sand'' received positive reviews. ''

Blabbermouth.net ''Blabbermouth.net'' is a website dedicated to metal and rock news, as well as album and music DVD reviews. It is run by the website's founder Borivoj Krgin. The first version of the website was launched in March 2001. In October 2001, the rec ...

'' felt that the different aspects of the album, such as the distorted melodies and vocals, combined into a "sonic excursion into raw human emotion like few others out there today."

Track listing

Personnel

Adapted from liner notes. *Kris Angylus – guitars, vocals, drums, textures, artwork *Monica Dragynfly – bass, vocals, textures, artwork

References

{{reflist 2007 albums Ambient albums by American artists Drone metal albums Profound Lore Records albums Shoegaze albums by American artists