By: Peter Morsellino
“7 Year Epilogue” CD//DD//LP track listing:
The Review:
France's The Phantom Carriage return from an extended hiatus with the incredibly ambitious “7 Year Epilogue”. A melding of genres and emotions, The Phantom Carriage really get the chance to spread their wings and let the creative juices flow.
With notes running the gamut of black metal, hardcore, and screamo, The Phantom Carriage show off a bit of everything in a great big crust punk cauldron here. The styles flow in and out of each other seamlessly, allowing for unbroken concentration on the stories being told by each song. I'm tempted to note a bit of a black gaze thing going on, but I think this group moves beyond that trend. The melding of the generally cold hardcore and black metal influences with a very emotional lilt creates an immediate connection with the listener. It grabs hold of you and refuses to let go. I do not believe that I've ever heard such catchy melodic hooks on a crust punk album before.
The raw emotion found pushing the musical delivery is the real star of the show on this album. The band does an amazing job of conveying an aura of dread and despair. Vocally, The Phantom Carriage features a wide range, all leading back into the emotive product. There's anger here, but also fear and pain. It's a well-rounded picture of the story that is being told.
The Phantom Carriage have a winner on their hands with “7-Year Epilogue”. It checks all the boxes for this reviewer, being a heavy, emotionally robust piece. I say check this one out.
“7-Year Epilogue” is available HERE
