By: Ernesto
Aguilar
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released:
01/06/2018
Label: Music Fear
Satan
Haunted vocals
and a primordial stew of drums and effects make this an experience like few
others. Heavy, undoubtedly, but also complex their latest recording, is among their
strongest, with a stifling density sure to draw doom devotees' attention.
“Anti-Life”
CD//DD//2LP track listing:
1).
AL
2).
NI
3).
TF
4).
IE
The Review:
That
olden creak of the bass, drum rhythms painted black and bombastic guitars
deliver the sound that is as familiar as it is beloved. In the case of Cult of Occult,
it is also a welcome return.
The
French sludge band has had a prolific career, with six releases since 2012. "Anti-Life," their latest
recording, is among their strongest, with a stifling density sure to draw doom
devotees' attention.
Their
2011 self-titled album is a good look at what makes Cult of Occult so formidable. Its
Full of Hell-style
crushing layers of volume and meandering riffs have long been part of the
band's arsenal. When it premiered the 12-minute "NI" earlier in the year, the slowed down feel gave Cult of
Occult's particular approach a sort of burn that is a treat as it is
a trudge. The track possesses a kind of torment that a great sludge song can
do, with paralyzing rhythms and, as here, its contemptuous chords that soar
just over your head. It was a fine introduction to the new sounds the band has
cooked up, and it gets better across the four-track, nearly 60-minute
recording.
"AL"
begins the album with a searing atmosphere. It takes a little patience, though,
as the track goes in for more than two of its 15 minutes before the music picks
up. Once the song gets moving, however, it comes surging forward with intense
guitar and pressure cooker bass. The lo-fi, thick tempo of the opener sets an
assertive tone for the album. "NI,"
the second cut, was a steely introduction to the album, but "AL"
delivers on its promise.
"TF" builds off of "NI" with more of that
multi-dimensional blend of sound – venomous bass work and blown-out guitars
carve out a bruising pace, in the most lugubrious fashion imaginable. Haunted
vocals and a primordial stew of drums and effects make this an experience like
few others. Heavy, undoubtedly, but also complex in its arrangement and a great
experience for doom and sludge fans looking for more than plodding riffs and
songs about dwarves. Similarly, "IE"
continues this nagging dread composed throughout "Anti-Life," with a sedated tenor that spirals into some of Cult of
Occult's best departures.
Seldom
can a band doing this style create something original with this level of
output. However, Cult of Occult succeeds at making an album with a dark
opalescence that rises above expectations.
“Anti-Life” is available here
