CARDINALS FOLLY — Our Cult Continues! (review)

CARDINALS FOLLY — Our Cult Continues! album cover Album · 2014 · Doom Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Time Signature
Chant of shadows...

Genre: doom metal

Formerly known as Coven, Cardinals Folly is a Finnish doom metal band who style leans towards the occult. They have an EP and a full-length under their belt, and now follows up with Our Cult Continues!

The occult inclination of this trio is not only reflected in the name of the abum (and title track), but also in the 4+ minutes long intro 'Chant of Shadows'. The songs proper are performed in an old school doom metal style which draws on 1970s and 1980s elements in both doom metal and traditional metal. Thus, listeners are treated to relatively upbeat heavy rock parts and heavier old school doom metal passages. Thus, a track like 'Morbid Glory' has the same drive as House of Capricorn's 'All Hail to the Netherworld', but is much more unpolished, and 'Our Cult Continues' is reminiscent of the rock vibes immanent in Pentagram's music. In other words, Cardinals Folly combine melody and doom-ladden barrenness, and they do so quite convincingly. While never reaching the depths of extreme slow tempo that characterizes much contemporary doom metal, Cardinals Folly's music nevertheless comes across crushingly heavy, as heard in 'The Black Baroness' and 'Walvater Unveiled' as well as the doomy parts of 'Sighisoaran'.

This crushing heaviness is generated by the rough edged and bottom-heavy production which emphasizes the breadth and depth of the guitar, while the bass has an organic sounds that obviously pays tribute to the style of Geezer Butler. We are not exactly dealing with lo-fi production, but rather with the unpolished non-compromising rawness that captures the spirit of traditional doom metal. My only beef with this album is that the vocals are weak in the mix and also a bit too monotonous for my taste. But I definitely hear what sort of aesthetics vocalist (and bassist) Mikko Kääriäinen is aiming at with his baritone singing style.

A fine work of doom metal Our Cult Continues! should appeal to fans of the likes of Bedemon and Pentagram as well as early Count Raven and Saint Vitus.

(review originally posted at seaoftranquility.org)
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