Locusts and Honey - Teach Me to Live That I Dread the Grave as Little as My Bed

Locusts and Honey is a doom metal band from Long, England who formed in 2023.  “Teach Me to Live That I Dread the Grave as Little as My Bed,” is their debut EP.  The album is one song divided up into six movements, acting as the songs.  

Their sound is very much rooted in funeral doom although there are a lot of liminal spaces and a psychedelic vibes to the atmosphere.   Although the song is nearly 30 minutes in length, these minutes tick back much, much faster that one would think. 

With that being said, having the album divided up into six tracks is somewhat unnecessary as only the second movement, “Leathern Cord,” is an actual song, with the remaining five making up smaller portions that basically make up the intro, three interludes, and an outro.  There isn’t anything wrong with this structure, as the song is seamless even through track transitions, but it’s best to go from beginning to end instead of listening on a piecemeal basis.

The psychedelic vibes begin with clean tones, though they are dismal and melancholic.  Subtle keys add in ominous layers and to be honest, this part actually sounds disturbing.  After a couple minutes of build up, a truly sinister riff settles in with a death growl making its monstrous presence known.  The music is slightly melodic but does nothing to alleviate the perpetual darkness perpetuated by the other elements.   This is straight up abrasive, nasty music that isn’t going to be for everyone.  But if you know, you know.  As the minutes rumble through, the song grows even more sinister with dark melodies acting as shadowed monoliths reaching for the skies, their judgmental gaze upon all. 

The drumming remains interesting and engaging throughout; if there were any lulls to be found, the drums wouldn’t allow a restful moment for long.  At what amounts to the halfway point, dark ambient noises, perhaps even consisting of drone influences, cast their own shadows–all light is swallowed up and there is no hope to be found.

Near the end of this movement, the spacey vibes make their presence known, albeit briefly, but they do their job of transitioning the song back onto a heavier path.  The vocals are sickening, riding alongside a very slight groove that is the doomiest doom that ever doomed a doom. 

The song ends its last few minutes with ambient and clean instrumental tones, highlighted by gentle yet foreboding guitar.

All in all,  “Teach Me to Live That I Dread the Grave as Little as My Bed” is an interesting song/ep and kept me challenged, horrified, and invested for its runtime.  It takes a lot of balls to make your debut release one long song but Locusts and Honey pulled it off and then some.  I anxiously await a full-length!