Two excellent bands from two countries have come together for a two-track split titled The Eastern Scrolls. Aawks hails from Canada, while Aiwass is based in Texas, and together they will release this album on August 25th, 2023.
About The Eastern Scrolls
Consisting of one track from each band, The Eastern Scrolls is a concept album that explores the life of a Russian mystic named Helena Blavatsky. Helena had a varied career path during her life, as she held jobs as a circus horse rider, a professional pianist, and a businesswoman at different points in her working life. She was also known as a spiritualist and was one of the founders of Theosophy, a spiritual movement based on the ancient traditions of occultism and the doctrines of Hermeticism and Neoplatonism. I was unaware of Helena and her accomplishments, but hearing what these two bands created in her honor is a highly gratifying experience.
About Aawks and 1831
Aawks apply their talents for doom with a psychedelic twist and prove once again that they are one of the better bands coming from Canada. Their contribution to this split is called “1831”, which I believe was inspired by Helena’s birth date, August 12th, 1831.
“1831” runs for fourteen minutes and thirty seconds, is full of excellent and varied vocal work, and has the riff elements that will bring us along for the long haul. Aawks leans heavily into these riffs; this is shown by the first one we hear in “1831”, which also sets the tone for the next eight minutes. They continue to devastate with doomy riffs for over half of this song, changing and evolving each for maximum listening enjoyment.
At about eight minutes in, we get a section that could be described as being psychedelic in nature but also sounds like some of the pagan neo-folk stylings that can be found on a Heilung or Wardruna album. They ride this out until the end of the track, proving that they are capable of much more than heavy riffs by creating an atmospheric style that is minimalistic yet massive in its feel.
About Aiwass and The Unholy Books
Aiwass is a one-man project from Texas founded by Blake Carrera after he went on an Aliester Crowley reading binge in 2020. Blake’s approach is similar to what the guys in Aawks do, so this pairing makes complete sense. As of May 2023, Aiwass has also welcomed Pablo Anton of Demons My Friends as co-writer and lead guitarist.
This song is called “The Unholy Books” and follows a different direction compared to what was presented in the first song. This means that the heaviness isn’t brought on by riffs and power, but instead, it comes from a place of deep serenity for the majority of its runtime. We get a taste of riffs, but that only happens about eight minutes into the track when things get heavy, and more or less stay that way until the end.
Highlights of this one are an underlying desert rock meets and darkness that follows the song title perfectly. This track is atmospheric and digs into a spiritual quality that denotes what Helena was attracted to in her life.
Final Thoughts
My impression of this split weighs heavily on the positive side of things. I love the fact that these two songs fit together, as well as being different representations of their genre. Aawks took the heavier direction before returning to end their song on a somewhat peaceful note, which perfectly leads into the Aiwass track. This sense of cohesion is one of the things that I look for in albums, and these bands hit that mark expertly!
Pre-order The Eastern Scrolls from Aawks and Aiwass here.
Support Aawks by finding them on Bandcamp or social media (Instagram, Facebook).
Support Aiwass by finding them on Bandcamp or social media (Instagram, Facebook).
This review was written by Tom Hanno, who has been writing reviews for the last 7 years but has been sharing his love of music for the majority of his life. Originally starting out at the now-defunct Chimera Magazine, he is currently contributing to Doomed and Stoned, The Sleeping Shaman, The Doom Charts, Tom’s Reviews, and The Third Eye. Read more of Tom’s reviews by checking out his Linktree.
Parting words: “History, Stephen said, is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.” – James Joyce
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