THE MEDEA PROJECT lists its beginning as 2003, however, the UK duo’s first long-player didn’t arrive until 2020’s Sisyphus. Enjoyable, succinct, thinking neither too highly of itself, nor too headily about the sound it was crafting, the band – while not going leagues beyond in a search for a singular sound – used economy to its advantage on the debut. EPs Southern Echoes (2021) and Reflections (2023) acted as sonic travelogues, showing that THE MEDEA PROJECT was beginning to search its own heart to discover what blood flowed through.

Anguished vocals submerged in a wet fog moan/cry from behind the grey weight of memory at the start, but once ‘Absence, In Loss’ bursts forth, its loose, lysergic riff heralds the coming of doom. Vocalist/stringsman Brett Minnie comfortably moves between a JB Christoffersson (GRAND MAGUS) roar and early Dan Fondelius (COUNT RAVEN) clean delivery for most of the time, and it suits the material well. I’m not at all enamored with the bass tone on the opener, as something sounds out of place in an undefinable way, and the tune – aside from a nice buildup in the spoken bridge – never regains its momentum in the latter 1/3rd. I would’ve spent more time on the solid riff that hit in the coda, myself, but it’s not my band, so there’s that.

‘The Cave Song’ drips soft at its start, imagine water slowly descending, drop by lonely drop, from stalactites unseen by humanity for millennia to pool below, rivulets of the hidden earth’s tears. Choral chant arrives, interwoven with Minnie’s intonations and the notable drumwork of Pauline Silver, which is heavy-handed or feather-light, as needed. The duo frequently takes its time in getting songs started, as in ‘Purgatory Trapped’, in an effort to set the mood. Thankfully, it works more often than not, and this track contains some of the best vocal work I’ve heard from Minnie to date.

‘Upon Your Bones’ continues the long build to the song proper format in which TMP seems to be stuck, but we’re also treated to a few BGVs from Silver, and a “Heave! Ho!” refrain that actually adds to the song instead of detracting, despite it sounding completely out of place on a doom record to say so. You’ll also here the band ramp up to an almost “fast” tempo, setting ‘Upon Your Bones’ apart.

An obliterating ‘The End’ finds Minnie & Silver reaching almost KHANATE levels of punishment, and this – along with the dark ambient and psychedelic modes that haunt closer ‘Reborn’ show a band that, with Kharon, has taken a few great steps towards crafting something that belongs to few in this genre…a singular sound.
Review By: Lord Randall

THE MEDEA PROJECT
Kharon
Independent