Worm Gear

12 years ago, I may have been a bit more enamored by the mysterious dungeon black metal noise of England’s Cold Crypt, for when the 1 man black metal movement began, it seemed so legitimately DIY and spirited to those of us who have always had difficulty securing a drummer locally, or even wanting the hassle of working with one. With advances in recording/computer technology, the internet and a few evilly rendered “selfies” from mom’s camera, your solitary statement of blistering hell noise was a drum machine pattern and cheap distortion pedal/guitar away.

Cold Crypt is a fuzzed out descent into the dissonant realm of pulsing, dare I say “industrialized” black metal, cradled in a swarm of atmospheric distortion, blazing straight forward foundation riffs and cancer sore vokills that curse the heavens with discontent. There is so much caustic noise stacked on top of caustic noise, Bearing the Light strikes as a unified wall of hatred and ugliness. When twisted harmonies strain from the wash of sound, they put me in mind as being touched by a slight Xasthur influence in their bleak out of key refrain. The vocals are ghostly and tortured . The machine leading the charge is but a time keeping twitch beneath the sound canvased atop it. When in the right mood, this album and bands like Cold Crypt do indeed have their place, but there is so much of it out there available for consumption, a band executing this style better bring something special to the table.

Bearing the Light is competent and even enjoyable on occasion, but CC haven’t introduced anything new or noteworthy other than a moment of nostalgic appreciation for sole member Raze’s efforts. I guess I’d rather be punished by Passage D’Hiver. -Marty
Cimmerian Shade Recordings

~ by martyworm on December 18, 2013.

Posted in ALL REVIEWS, C-reviews
Tags: Bearing the Light, Cimmerian Shade Recordings, Cold Crypt, Drowning the Light, Leviathan, Striborg, Xasthur