_The Clearing_ / _The Final Epoch_ is a double cd re-release of the Locrian's 2011 vinyl only album _The Clearing_. Paired with unreleased material originally only available on CD-R, this new package intends on introducing a larger audience to the same unnerving drone which hung like thunderheads over the greater Chicago area. Given the right amount of patience, Locrian intends to provide accompaniment for those idle strolls through abandoned streets after the collapse of civilization.

Unlike the slow jams of Earth or the assuming hipness of Sunn O))), Locrian uses drone in the way to create landscapes of atmosphere. Given the right amount of time, they then populate those landscapes with some of the most frightening sounds heard in a long time. Whenever growling and shrieking stops being frightful, the distant black metal cries over tape loops will do the trick.

Locrian succeeds as a solitary experience. It attempts to create a world devoid of hope and reason. It is the lower depths of madness seen from the upside down. I could not imagine seeing the band live or even experiencing it in the company of friends. I find drone to be useful given the right circumstances. Whittling. Yardwork. The slow unravel of ones own metal fabric. Whatever the case, Locrian and _The Clearing_ / _The Final Epoch_ is here to help.