Sunday, October 13, 2019

Gothtober - Cold in Berlin : " Rituals of Surrender"









I had to go back and listen to their 2012 album "And Yet" to see if I was totally off base as remembering them as more of a post punk bank .Now they are a doom band band like a darker version of Devils Blood with more post punk influence / "Dark Days rumbles with more weight than the opener.It build up into something with the intensity of metal for sure. They back off a little on " Avalanche". The singer's voice has a pleading wail. She is more stark than soulful. You can here the goth traces of Siouxsie in her voice on this one. "Monsters" finds her declaring that she is grateful for the pain. The vocals tip the scales on "Frantic"  more towards the post-punk side. The pace moves the song out of the doom lumber. The guitars are much more metal than I remember this band being.

It's not Black Sabbath worship, but many o those bands would not be out of place sharing a stage with these guys now. They give "Temples" a little more room to breath on the verse. The fuzz stomps back on the chorus. Creepy clean guitar surface for this song as well, which pleases me. "Your Body ? My Church" is darker and more hesitation to go into the more weighty sound. Male vocals harmonize with her in place . This song is more minimal with just guitar and vocals. "Shadow Man" finds them rumbling back into their full new found doom glory. Not sure it is as catchy as the earlier forays into doom on this album, but it also might just need to grow on me.

They really lay the atmosphere on thick for "Sacred Ground" which closes out the album. It causes the song to linger and fake you out as to where it is going to go. It drones more than drives. It ebbs and loses some momentum, but over all I will give this album a 9 as it throbs in the most depressive ways possible into your ears.

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