Cult Of Divine Mercy - Hempgnosis (2017)

2017's "Hempgnosis" is probably the most musically interesting album from this project, Cult Of Divine Mercy.
Originally, CODM was a Catholic-oriented noise project, following the earlier noise created under the Harsh Noise Wall (HNW) project Escape From Hell. The latter still exists today, albeit in a different form.

The first CODM releases were styled as 'funeral noise,' a sort of cavernous, reverberating extension of the Harsh Noise Wall genre. This, of course, was not even picked up on by most who criticised it in the beginning, probably having no idea at the time what HNW even was, let alone an attempted variation of it. Ah well, such is the plight of the artist, to rarely, if ever, have his art understood. Semper fudge.
The albums themselves focused thematically on the divine mysteries of the Holy Rosary; one can hardly say that it's a common concept in the noise scene.

"Hempgnosis," by contrast, is an excursion in Funeral/Stoner Doom Metal. I had thought, even early on, that CODM would make a good Doom Metal project. It's one of the albums I'm more proud of and satisfied with over all. The title, aside from the obvious, is a play on the word "hypnosis."

After relapsing into heavy DXM abuse for a few months between late 2016 through to Spring of 2017, I started to think maybe weed was a better alternative. How I feel about cannabis, and my history/timeline of drug use and abuse in general, is a story in itself. I'll probably end up making a separate post about it at some point, but I digress...
I had considered using cannabis, and just going full stoner, but upon trying to smoke weed again, I quickly realized why weed had become my least favorite drug over the years: panic attacks.

So, I started drinking instead around this time. In spite of its cannabinoid theme, "Hempgnosis" was created entirely under the influence of alcohol (much like practically every release since then, up to present time). Plot twist: at time of writing I haven't had a drink in a month, ironically because I started smoking cannabis again, after learning the importance of CBD in regulating and reducing the negative side-effects of THC. This revelation has been nothing short of miraculous. I used to look disfavourably on people who praised CBD as a miracle drug, but damn if I haven't become one of them. I was wrong. 

Interestingly enough, this post ended with an actual hemp-gnosis.

Download the album at 'Name Your Price' (free or donation):

https://cultofdivinemercy.bandcamp.com/album/hempgnosis