Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light 1

After a five-year absence, Earth is back with the two-chaptered album Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light. And it sounds as though in the half-decade between 2008’s The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull and this recording, Dylan Carlson may have hocked much of his distortion pedal collection. But even as twangy guitars resonate with Ennio Morricone–style tones, the opening song, “Old Black,” is still heavy and sluggish, thanks in part to tension between drummer Adrienne Davies and new bassist Karl Blau. The following “Father Midnight” exercises even more restraint. Its scales seem tipped toward the negative space that make the plodding rhythms here incredibly suspenseful, with Lori Goldston’s cello adding palpable texture. Vamping on minor-chord blues, “Descent to the Zenith” proves that you don’t need blown-out Black Sabbath–derived sludge to sound sinister. And this one plays with such brooding moods that it would make a perfect score to a remake of an old horror-western film like Haunted Range.