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NadjaDesire in Uneasiness***1/2

Doom metal is not usually a thing of beauty–in fact, the genre generally hinges on ugliness and despair, using down-tuned guitar dirges to pummel the psyche and depress the mind.

But Nadja’s music is stunning, beautiful and crushing. Their songs are uneasy mixtures of rapturous, ethereal fuzz and dense, pulverizing bass lines. It’s a strange dichotomy, but it serves Nadja well.

The Canadian duo’s newest album, Desire in Uneasiness, showcases a signature sound that Nadja has been perfecting over dozens of recordings since 2003. While this album shows small variation from the band’s previous doom-gone-psychedelic music, Uneasiness may be the best representation of their sonic maxim.

And what, you ask, is Nadja’s deal? Imagine Black Sabbath slowed waaaay down, turned way up and on a mind-destroying amount of acid. It’s industrial-metal pummel concealed beneath layers and layers of synth-buzz and woodwind-fuzz. Even the quiet parts of Uneasiness are loud.

The one problem with this album is its single-minded focus on main songwriter Aidan Baker’s muse: long, drawn-out drone music. Layers of sweeping melody and convoluted noise are only so interesting, you know? Eighteen-minute songs can work, but Baker sometimes loses the listener’s interest.

Desire in Uneasiness requires an intense focus for maximum listening pleasure, which is both its strength and its weakness.