Through Smoke and Darkness...

Bretus / Black Capricorn ~ Split (2015)

 

One of the meanest splits so far this year, two Italian heavy weights cut loose with both barrels for a pairing surely made in the backroom at some virgin sacrifice no one knows about. First up on the album is Bretus with their track "Haunter of the Dark", a six and a half minute trudging doom opus that's not quite equal parts Black Sabbath and Type O Negative. After opening with some thunder and church bells, a snarling riff starts up and huge vocals make their presence felt, things meld and solidify more as slightly harsher vocals make their appearance well into the song. If you're familiar with their work, this one won't let you down. The flip side is all about Black Capricorn's crushing doom metal sound that they've made their name on. Droning riffs that drag themselves along to the pounding drum rhythms, with the only reprieve being a howling guitar solo in the second half. All of this with deep, powerful vocals presiding over the whole thing. Definitely the grittier of the two bands, they offer the perfect contrast to the relatively cleaner sound from Bretus. While it took a little looking to find a place to buy the split, it looks like you can grab it from the record label Arcane Tapes here.
~Skip

For Fans Of; Pilgrim, Saint Vitus, Merlin

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Where the Dark Ones Go

Black Capricorn ~ Cult of Black Friars (2014)

After a few days of stoner rock, I figured it was time for some doom. We have Black Capricorn's "Cult of Black Friars" up this time around, released towards the end of last year it definitely slipped under the radar for quite a few of us. With the track record of Italian doom bands lately, it's not really much of a shock that the entire album is a bold and heavy psych influenced doom metal epic. This being their first release in a while, they've come back with an LP full of new material that's probably some of their best yet. While most of the songs have the tried and true doom recipe of low, slow and heavier than hell, others tread off the beaten path a bit and explores the psych side of things some, with a dose of fuzz thrown in here and there. The sixth track "Cat People" is one of those, really strolling off on to a doomy psych fuzz tangent part of the way through. The title track is the textbook definition of what a doom metal song should be on the other hand, with the long and slow riffs that seem to pummel you for minutes instead of seconds at a time. The opener "Atomium" was an early favorite of mine though, with a raw and dark tone the main riff takes a few moments to get going, but after that it's a instrumental assault of doom that drives everything forward and sets the dark, gritty vibe that emanates from the rest of the album. While I haven't been able to find anything about a digital version for sale anywhere, you can head over to their website and find the  links you need to order the album from just about anywhere in the world.
~Skip

For Fans Of; Pentagram, Saint Vitus, Merlin

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