ALBUM REVIEW: On Ghastly Shores Lays the Wreckage of Our Lore – Old Corpse Road
Darlington’s OLD CORPSE ROAD are one of the most impressive, and certainly one of the most intriguing, black metal acts in the UK. Taking a classic symphonic black metal sound and peppering it with a powerful, folky undercurrent, this band have managed to craft several brilliant records, including three full lengths, that provide a great, distinctly British twist on an established style and carving out their own niche within the genre. Their latest record, On Ghastly Shores Lays the Wreckage of Our Lore, sees the band produce yet another magnificent slab of symphonic black metal, and proves to be arguably the band’s best output to date.
The opening, titular track, is a great, melody driven instrumental piece of great black metal with lots of hooks courtesy of the guitars and keyboards, setting the listener up for the rest of the record quite well. Harbingers of Death (Voices in the Tempest) utilises much denser guitars and varied vocals, ranging from shrill howls to sonorous spoken word, creating a dark, engrossing track with a brilliant symphonic black metal sound that not many bands attempt, let alone perfect. Black Ship, a lengthier, slow burning affair, brings in a few subtle, well placed folk elements, particular in the guitar playing, and sees OLD CORPSE ROAD begin to shift between tones and inject a huge, cinematic edge to the song, making it all the more engrossing. As the song kicks into full gear, it proves to be extremely expansive, creating a powerful and eclectic track overall. This song also sees the keyboards take a central role in the sound, creeping further up in the mix as the song reaches its climax, providing some haunting moments of its own.
Sea Fire, with its acoustic and keyboard driven sound, proves to be a steady, bleaker number, with a few acerbic moments thrown into the mix, with slick, mesmerising guitars, visceral vocal passages and grandiose keyboards all adding plenty of depth to this particular tracks sound. As Waves Devour Their Carcasses, a shorter, punchier track, by this albums standards, is fantastic, with sublime, dramatic moments, due mainly to dominant keyboard motifs and caustic, contrasting vocals which add a small, but sharp, bit of darkness in amongst the more angelic nature of the music. It’s a great track that stands out from the rest of the music for all the right reasons. Demons of the Farne sees the gothic side of OLD CORPSE ROAD‘s sound take centre stage, quickly establishing itself as the best song on the album with some great, vicious riffs, monstrous drums and acidic, rasping vocals adding an aggressive bent to the song, all shrouded in a thick and beguiling atmosphere. It’s a brilliantly bombastic affair that sticks in the listeners mind immediately.
The Ghosts of the Ruinous Dunstanburgh Castle, the album’s monolithic climactic track, makes full use of its 16 plus minute span, peppering this song with a plethora of great moments. It brings together many of the more effective aspects in the bands sound, from tight, soaring guitars, to great folk sections, with powerful keyboards and some intricate, precise drumming interwoven into the music, making for an enthralling masterclass in how to write captivating black metal. WaterLore differs in terms of sound from the rest of the album, with lighter, less distorted guitars and softer vocals giving this song a glorious, almost post rock feel that doesn’t appear earlier on the album. It’s a great track that brings the album to a close in a good, and interesting, way.
There’s very little in way of filler to find fault with on this record. If you appreciate the likes of HECATE ENTHRONED and early CRADLE OF FILTH, then there’s a lot to love about this record; however, this is far from the emulation of a tried and tested formula, with the band throwing in plenty of excellent, melodic guitar work and folk elements, which gives this album its own flavour, with even the production capturing the murky and atmospheric sound that makes this style of music sound so great when properly utilised. This is yet another instant classic from a band that have a notable reputation for producing fantastic records, marking one of their more creative high points to date.
Rating: 9/10
On Ghastly Shores Lays The Wreckage Of Our Lore is out now via Trollzorn.
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