Deathconsciousness isn't just an album—it's a five-year journey into the depths of what it means to be human, to be aware of your own mortality, and to try to find meaning when everything feels meaningless. Starting in 2002, Dan Barrett and Tim Macuga locked themselves away in home studios, recording with whatever gear they could scrape together. The whole thing cost less than $1,000 to make. Barrett used his laptop's built-in microphone. They worked in basements and bedrooms, layering sounds through multiple generations of tape until they had this dense, suffocating wall of sound that perfectly matched the weight of the lyrics.

Along the way, weird things happened. There was this sound that appeared in the mix that they couldn't figure out—they genuinely thought it might be a ghost for the longest time. Turns out it was just one of their friends making noise in the background during a recording session. They kept it in because it added to the atmosphere. Then there was "Earthmover," the 11-minute closing track. While recording it, Barrett got so overwhelmed with emotion that he just dropped his bass on the floor and walked out. That sound of the bass hitting the floor? That's the "bass solo" you hear in the final mix. They kept it. Because that's what this album is—raw, honest, unpolished moments captured exactly as they happened.

When it finally came out in 2008, it was only 100 CD-R copies. Super limited. It came with a 70-page booklet detailing a fictional religious history. But then the original masters got lost, which is why different versions can sound slightly different. Word started spreading through online communities—4chan's /mu/ board, Rate Your Music. People connected with how brutally honest it was about depression, isolation, existential dread. It wasn't trying to make you feel better. It was just being real about how shitty things can get.

Now it's recognized as a landmark album in underground music. You can hear its influence everywhere—in blackgaze, dark ambient, all that heavy emotional music. It's one of those albums that hits different when you're in a certain headspace. It's not pretty, but it's real. And sometimes that's exactly what you need.