“In my humble estimation, Soulmass exemplify the death-doom style. Weighty, but not plodding; methodical but not overwrought. I’ve been following these Floridians for a long time and I’ve only grown more impressed with their development. Their third full-length finds my expectations too damn high, especially after the act took a massive step forward on 2019’s The Weakness of Virtue. Can Soulmass live up to the hype? Let Us Pray so.” Mass effects.
“On a video call from Tucson, with her playful dog Kansas and a huge Visigoth poster in the background, Alicia Cordisco filled me in on what she’s been up to. A prolific metal guitarist and occasionally, singer, with plenty to say, she’s a joy to interview, speaking extemporaneously on her community within the metal scene, the joys of Manilla Road (“they’re the greatest band ever and I will accept no other option”), and the challenges of coming out and of living as a trans woman.”
“If forced to pin a “Dark Souls metal” tag on a band, Bell Witch, not Soulmass, comes to mind. Bleak and suffocating, funeral doom always smelled like the proper representation of a nightmarish world bent under centuries of decay and despair. Soulmass’ 2014 debut Despairing Fates approximated its subject matter’s grind-you-to-sand difficulty more closely than its forlorn atmosphere. Their tempestuous death metal crushed as many souls as advertised, but five years later, that flame is extinguished. The Weakness of Virtue looms instead, spreading doom and death in the jolly cooperation that its subject matter so desperately craves.” Soulmass effect.
