We are all truly DOOMED. Or, at least, YOU are, if you happen to be reading this, because you’ve stumbled on to Vol. 3 of The Codex…welcome! For this third installment, we’ll kick things off with some rumblin’ an’-a tumblin’ courtesy of the mighty Church of Misery. For those uninitiated, this Japanese outfit mostly definitely belong to the old guard, having kicked out the serial killer-obsessed jams for over a decade now, with four capital LPs and numerous splits and EPs to their credit.
Houses Of The Unholy is The Church’s first outing for the legendary Rise Above Records, and arrives upon my doorstep practically doused in greasy, sticky riff-goodness, and a groove so thick, it could clog the arteries of Takeru Kobayashi himself. Seriously, if yer lookin’ for an apparently endless arsenal of sick-lick wizardry, you need look no further than this massive mother of a record. Word.
On the other side of the world (Finland, to be exact), the aching (Internal) void left by the dissolution of Reverend Bizarre has seemingly caused a whole NEW crop of acts to spring up, driven and inspired to unleash a similarly morbid ‘n morose racket in the absence of their masters. Cardinal’s Folly from Helsinki, are probably chief amongst this NWOFDM (New Wave Of Finnish Doom Metal), and let it rip on both their sold out Heretic’s Hangover EP and forthcoming Orthodox Faces EP, throwing out riffs to die for, and letting them stick to the wall…only to slowly drip down the cracked ‘n peeling paint into that musty ol’ basement o’ yours. You know the one…it’s where you keep all of those old, occult artifacts you don’t want anyone to know about.
“Cardinal’s Folly lives from the world of occult,” offers Cardinal bassist/vocalist M. Karnstein. “I’ve always felt that Doom Metal is strongly related to the occult, as well. [We’re inspired by] heavy, primitive, powerful and genuine acts like Saint Vitus, Witchfinder General, Pentagram, Gates of Slumber, Minotauri, and of course, Black Sabbath who started it all. We also have plenty of Venom’s satanic pleasures in there, as well.”
He continues, “Doom metal comes from the power of thought. Those thoughts carry fear, hate, disgust and puritan attitude. Those are being transferred to musical instruments under the banner of heavy metal. I don’t care what people think, that’s how I’ve always seen it. Believe me, those thoughts don’t sound like stoner rock. They are HEAVY. It’s always heavy, when you carry heavy things with you. That’s what Rocky Balboa would say about doom metal!”
Indeed, Cardinal’s Folly pack one hell of a punch, but Caskets Open are yet another Finnish trio who are aiming for Reverend Bizarre’s jewel throne, and their Buried Upside Down demo possesses just enough chops and charm to make it a contender, easily. While The Cardinal tosses up some classic Mercyful metal into their mix, Casket’s Open seem to cling more to the grit ‘n grime…which is just fine with yours truly. Expect great things from both of these lethal Laplanders in the near future; mark my words.
Changing gears a bit (without burning the Clutch, ‘natch), I just gotta say some words about Germany’s Ahab for a moment. Now, I’ve never professed to be the biggest fan of funeral doom —this sorta thing either needs a pace or some incredible atmosphere in order to grab me, most of the time—but Ahab’s sophomore effort, The Divinity Of Oceans, just…fucking…NAILS it. In other words, this album has both of the necessary criteria in spades: each of these seven lengthy odes churns ‘n steamrolls over the listener, while remembering to keep the emotional thematic varied and honest.
This record succeeds in every way the band’ 2006 debut, The Call Of The Wretched Sea, did not, setting Ahab above and beyond any sort of “side project” delegation—due to the members’ involvement in the lighter, gothier Midnattsol—and officially placing the band at the upper echelon of their field. Seriously; take this one out for a spin…you may be surprised as to how badly this one infects you.
Hailing from Greece, Orion’s Void focuses a bit on the epic metal tip, melding a passionate love for True Metal™ amidst all of the sluggish slow-mo. The emotional guitar work of Tasos possesses a cool dynamic here on the band’s latest promo, and melds together quite well with the workmanlike drumming, and Father Alex’s melodramatic vocalizing. Again, a nice new act with a lot of promise here: let’s hope Orion’s Void starts turning some heads and ears soon.
Finally, we head back to Finland for a really new act by the name of Stone Evil. Literally formed earlier this month by Lasse Pyykko of Lapland’s death/doom maniacs Hooded Menace, Stone Evil rides the traditional end of things with their doom, inspired by genre leaders such as Sabbath, Pagan Altar, Candlemass and Trouble, to name a few. So far, the band has uploaded two killer songs to their Myspace, but of which feature mid-tempo riffing, mournful, twin guitar melodies, and Lasse’s uniquely bizarre style of clean vocals. I fully expect Stone Evil to get some attention, once something proper has been released, but these new tracks should more than whet the appetite for now.
With that, this third installment of The Codex comes to a close. Thanks for spending some time with us again! If you dudes in bands or labels would like to submit any material to the test, please send it to:
The Codex c/o George Pacheco 53 Rogers St. South Dartmouth, MA 02748-2806 USA
Alright! Back before you know it, and sooner than you’d like…peace!—m/G.
