Geist & the Sacred Ensemble

Geist & the Sacred Ensemble is a band from the Pacific Northwest that plays doom metal with an eye towards post rock, led by vocalist Michael Sauder, aka Geist. The core of their music is the soaring low tempo dirge that moves along at a deliberate pace. Their overall sense of dread, slow burning atmospheric drone that typically does not get resolved in any cathartic crescendo, plus Sauder's baritone and his delivery style may bring to mind a band like Swans. The songs have a meditative tone for the most part. Their riffs are robust. The drums and the timpanis pound away as needed. Occasional dissonance and chaotic noise are also par for the course. Thematically, their lyrics tend to gravitate towards social critique of western industrial and urban life.