EP REVIEW: The Haunting Of Sablewood – Carathis
CARATHIS are quickly becoming one of the most impressive acts to come out of the underground black metal scene in years. Although they have yet to produce a full-length album, each of their first four EPs contain the sort of imaginative songwriting and magnificent creativity to make them stand head and shoulders above the vast majority of acts, each one feeling like a cult classic even after the first hearing. The band’s latest EP, The Haunting Of Sablewood, which was initially released in May but has just got a re-release from Personal Records, may just be their current creative peak, and an absolute masterstroke of a record that blends together black metal and dungeon synth in a unique and memorable fashion.
It’s Haunted! is an incredibly epic start to the record, with slick, punchy guitar hooks and bombastic synths adding a grandiose element to proceedings immediately. It’s a track that blends melodic black metal and dungeon synth together, and even throws in a subtle power metal edge into the mix, whilst making enough room for searing vocals and some more grating elements, turning the tenets of raw black metal on its head and making for a refreshing take on a well established musical combination. A Dark Secret follows in a similar vein, with the majestic approach of the guitars and keys underpinned by a meaty, rhythmic undercurrent and arid vocals pushing the sound ever so slightly towards a more classic black metal sound without stripping away any of the light and dancing elements that have served this EP well so far, creating a tighter, dense take on the sound of the opener.
Twisted Game really plays up the dungeon synth sections of the record’s sound; the black metal moments initially take a more minimalist approach, allowing the synths to inject a lot more hooks into the music than before, with the guitars taking on a harsher, more rhythmic style than the slick and soaring riffs that have preceded them, and replacing them with a bombastic, gothic pomp that is just as grandiose and dramatic. The Anniversary pushes towards a slower, darker sound, with doom-laden guitars and percussive drums serving as the perfect backdrop to what are some of the best keyboard sections on the entire album. It’s certainly another track driven by this as opposed to the black metal that underpins the whole record, but it’s so well done and instantly memorable that it’s hard not to love immediately, providing a shorter effort that is nonetheless one of this EP’s stand out tracks.
Skeleton Christ – an even briefer track – caps the record off with an energetic offering with punk-inflected guitars and drums, and less domineering synths, which allows the vocals, which range from sonorous cleans through to acidic barks, to take centre stage. It’s another change of pace that works extremely well here, providing yet another impressive shift towards blackened punk that concludes this record really well.
It’s very hard to think of an underground black metal act that has been able to write a record this instantly memorable and unflinchingly powerful in recent years. The mixing of black metal and dungeon synth is by no means a new concept, but to take two styles that are so linked together in the minds of listeners and completely turn the established formula on its head is incredibly impressive, and definitely the mark of a world class band. And The Haunting Of Sablewood is certainly one of those records. The actual narrative and stylistic consistency aside, this doesn’t feel like the sort of brooding, bleak music that you associate with raw black metal; it’s more like the perfect soundtrack to an RPG session, possessing just the right amount of pomp and bombast without straying into outright cheese. Hopefully it won’t be long before the world gets to witness the first CARATHIS album, because this is the sort of music that, if it came out in album form, could very well establish this band as one of black metal’s foremost underground acts.
Rating: 9/10
The Haunting Of Sablewood is out now via Personal Records.