In Star Wars mythology, the keeper of the aptly-named Rancor is a portly, bald man whose most memorable screen time is a shot of his blubbering reaction to his surly pet's death. The latest missive from the Los Angeles duo of Robedoor makes reference to the character, but the tone of the music seems more in line with the vicious animal in his keep than its shirtless custodian. The band's first cd release without the -r suffix is four tracks of gritty aggression and desolate dirge, like ominous, spectral lamentations from underwater ruins. Britt and Alex (the gentlemen who make up Robedoor seem to prefer to stay on a first name basis) certainly aren't working in an aesthetic unmined by hordes of their contemporaries, but, even amidst an ever-growing collection of contemporaries, Robedoor are not without their own distinctive flair.
As a tone setter, "Empty Temple" is a doozy. The opening track rides a deep drone for more than nine minutes, with a crescendo of noise that operates much like a well-crafted horror film: though one knows what's likley coming, the climax is worth the wait. "Abyss Whisperer" and "Pentinent Runes" are the album's chillers, and perhaps it's due to some suggestive power of the album's track titles, but there's a vaguely primeval tone to the sounds, like primitive ceremony heard through centuries of sonic grime. "Wendigo Psychosis" follows the general pattern of "Empty Temple," building in volume and density as it goes, though rather than an extended crescendo, the tracks is constructed as more of a two-act composition, and even at its most clamorous, the music retains a calm distance at its center, with Robedoor eschewing the freak-out tendencies that other bands might show in such a situation.
In making a calamitous noise, two avenues can be taken. There are those who do so with abandon, in a cathartic expression of random sound, and those who do so with an unnerving control. Robedoor are certainly in the latter camp, and no matter the dynamics of the duo's music, there's a bleakness to it all, crafted with chilling care. In that way, perhaps Robedoor are just like the film character who inspired the album's name, loving custodians of a scary, savage beast.
