EP REVIEW: The Cult Of Kariba – Carach Angren
Seventeen years after CARACH ANGREN introduced the White Lady of Schinveld on their debut album Lammendam, the Dutch symphonic black metal duo return to the scene of the crime. Marking their first release in five years, since 2020’s Franckensteina Strataemontanus, and following the departure of founding member and drummer Ivo ‘Namtar’ Wijers, The Cult Of Kariba expands that original ghost story through the murderous tales of Kariba the Witch, bought back to the world by a local cult.
With vocalist and guitarist Dennis ‘Seregor’ Droomers and keyboardist Clemens ‘Ardek’ Wijers left to rebuild the band, they’ve enlisted session drummer Gabe Seeber (ABIGAIL WILLIAMS) and Patrick Damiani – who’s performed guitar and bass on every album since Lammendam – to revisit their roots. The result is both familiar and refreshed, a soft reset that reminds listeners why CARACH ANGREN became symphonic black metal’s premier storytellers whilst pushing their Schinveld folklore into darker, more elaborate territory.
The EP’s narrative unfolds methodically: A Malevolent Force Stirs sets the scene through Tim Wells’ voiceover work, establishing the underground cult gathering in secret. Draw Blood follows with the first sacrifice, its thrashing riffs giving way to a symphonic assault, before Seregor swaps his gruesome growls for clean vocals over melancholic violin passages that evokes wandering through Disneyland Paris’ Phantom Manor with all its ghostly inhabitants. It’s theatrical without becoming pantomime.
The Resurrection of Kariba stands as the EP’s centrepiece. Tremolo-picked guitars wage war against glimmering keys like angels and demons in battle whilst blast beats detonate like mines across the mix, with Seregor narrating Kariba’s return with genuinely venomous delivery. The track shouldn’t be as infectiously catchy as it is, but there’s an undeniable melody threaded through the chaos, driven by cinematic orchestral arrangements that make the whole thing feel like you’re waltzing through the apocalypse.
The genius move arrives with Ik Kom Uit Het Graf, their first track performed entirely in Dutch. Seregor abandons his typical black metal rasp for an industrial, RAMMSTEIN-esque delivery that signals the perspective shift—now we’re hearing from Kariba’s victim, risen from the grave for centuries-delayed vengeance. It’s narratively clever and musically distinctive, even if the track itself feels slightly disjointed, as though the band threw every symphonic black metal trope into the mix when leaning harder into the industrial undercurrent might have pushed their sound forward.
Which brings us to the EP’s primary limitation: CARACH ANGREN play it safe. Venomous 1666 closes proceedings with shredding guitars and stabbing strings that scream epic ambition, yet the percussion feels neutered, lacking the aggression needed to drive the track home. Without Namtar‘s permanent presence, the drums take a backseat across the entire EP, and whilst Seeber‘s performance is perfectly competent, there’s a palpable sense the band are holding back from truly pushing boundaries.
The Cult of Kariba doesn’t revolutionise their approach, but it doesn’t need to. This is a band reconnecting with their roots whilst expanding their mythology with additional historical context and darker tones. As a return following lineup upheaval and half a decade away, it’s a good reminder of why CARACH ANGREN‘s narrative-driven black metal remains so enthralling, even if it stops just short of greatness.
Rating: 7/10
The Cult Of Kariba is out now via Season Of Mist.
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