Exclusive Album Stream: Alluvial, The Deep Longing for Annihilation (feat. Keith Merrow and Wes Hauch)

We’ve been stoked on the debut album from Alluvial ever since we first caught wind of it back in November when the band released one song as a teaser of what was to come.

Alluvial is a collaboration between guitarist Keith Merrow — who you may know from Conquering Dystopia (with Jeff Loomis and Alex Webster) or from his solo work — and Wes Hauch, who played with The Faceless on the Autotheism album cycle, currently slings axe in Black Crown Initiate, and is himself also known well ’round these parts for his solo work. While Merrow and Hauch initially sought a vocalist for the project, they decided to keep it instrumental; after all, that’s how the songs were written, and some things are left well enough alone.

Unsurprising given these two dudes’ resumes: Alluvial play progressive death metal. But it’s the nuance on the album that’s impressed us the most; the tracks are moody and atmospheric, and they run the gamut from devastatingly heavy to groovy to chilled out and introspective. We shouldn’t have expected anything less from two world-class metal musicians, but Merrow and Hauch absolutely knocked it out of the park; The Deep Longing for Annihilation is fantastic, proving our initial stoke-itude upon learning about the band’s existence was well-founded.

The album has some special guests as well: Marty Friedman plays the second guitar solo on “Lila” and Sims Cashion plays the solo on “Compound.”

The album comes out today. Stream it below and purchase it right here. Also follow Alluvial on Facebook.