Album Type:
EP
Date Released:
July
12th 2014
Label:
Self Released
Book XIV -
track listing:
1.Track I 13:43
2.Track II 18:24
Bio
The
Fourth Seal. The final step in the Apocalypse. Once broken, the
Fourth Seal will unleash the final horseman, Death, upon the Pale
Horse. As he rides across the world, Hell shall follow him,
swallowing all who fall.
Fourth
Seal is a solemn representation of that coming event; a cacophonous
memorial to the fate that awaits all men.
Band Members
All
members anonymous
Review:
Did
you know that Dog the Bounty Hunter is from Denver, Colorado? And
correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Dog the Bounty Hunter once
famously proclaim; “My wife fucks like a hungry reptile when I
start spinning those groovy, satanic sounds”. He didn’t actually
say that, as you might imagine, I’m just scraping the bottom of the
barrel for a humorous lead in to something that’s not one bit funny
at all. It’s loathsome and callous and it comes from Denver’s
Blackened Doom duo, Fourth Seal.
Fourth
Seal’s first offering is over half an hour’s worth of amorphous
horror. Two tracks map out the journey for you, but that’s about as
close to tradition as you may find on this one. Fourth Seal inject
poisonous doses of Black Metal into a bloated body of Doom, marrying
the two in an entirely different manner than most have in the past.
There’s nothing fancy or over-the-top about Book XIV, in fact, it
comes off immediately as the complete antithesis to the epic,
melodious “Funeral” sound that many bands have gone for over the
years. It’s both hypnotic and rough as a bear’s arse at the same
time.
The
very first thing you may notice about Book XIV is that it was
recorded on a child’s hand in a studio made of Styrofoam boxes and
razor wire. This bad trip of a slab is made only more noxious by its
recording quality, and that’s what hooked me from the beginning.
I’m a salivating pig for lo-fi when it’s cooked just right. It
has to have just enough grain to give the overall picture some
character, but enough clarity so I can still see what’s going on in
it. While there’s always improvements to be made and sounds to
experiment with, Fourth Seal definitely have the right ears for that
“kvlt” quality and that’s apparent from the moment this
fucker’s engine starts coughing up blood. Though it would be
interesting to hear what the band would sound like with a little more
muscle on the guitar tone, the coarseness of Book XIV is, as I said
before, a creature all unto itself.
You’re
dragged through the nettles throughout the album’s thirty and
something minutes, a guitar howls madly one moment only to snap into
place with a solid riff the next while the frosty and dominant
percussion constantly remind you throughout that you’re listening
to a metal band. The absence of vocals on the album was a good
decision as the music itself is so busy and often chaotic that vox,
even just the odd wail here and there, would just be absorbed into
the wall of sound already molesting your senses. I don’t like
name-dropping or making too many lazy comparisons, but if I could
indulge for a moment, I’d recommend Fourth Seal to any Ramesses or
11Paranoias fan, if horrific, barbarous psychedelia is to your
masochistic tastes.
In
the long run, Book XIV is great first offering made only more
interesting by its ballsy direction and execution. It constantly
climbs and descends through an icy landscape, bringing you on a
guided tour through the bleak picture they’ve painted for you. A
deep, cavernous Black Metal demeanour on the face of a Doom album.
Check
the Band from Links Below
Written
by Liam Doyle
