DECREPITAPH
Condemned Cathedral
(Razorback Recordings)
49:22min

I could almost cry tears of happiness over this one. I will not of course, since I am a tough Metal fan. But this, this is an effort I can surely appreciate very much. “Ancient Death Metal”, as the band likes to call it, is the proper name for an album like “Condemned Cathedral”. As their first album, DECREPITAPH from Texas, have made an supremely accomplished record in the Death / Doom style. Deeply knowledgeable about the genre this band oozes the respect for old school from every pore of their music. Only years of listening to morbid Metal and true love for all things Death could produce something this good. Extreme heaviness is present in every aspect of their sound: the guitars are downtuned down to the bowels of hell, the bass is murderously heavy, and so are the drums. The vocals burrow through the morbid spheres of old times, times when gelatinous forms struggled to devour all that is sentient. The song tempo varies from slow to mid to fast in a wavelike manner that breathes as a living sea of lovecraftian madness. The atmosphere is a winner here: you can immerse yourself in this ungodly music and dream about hideous dimensions for hours on end, lead by mournful leads but also staying grounded by sheer heaviness. A prefect combination. Lyrically the album covers various themes from the land of unnameable horror: zombies, morbid rituals, desolate labyrinths and lots and lots of bones in obscure crypts. Praising this album would be an understatement – if you like Death Metal as it was meant to be this is for you. True gift to a genre and already a classic. www.myspace.com/decrepitaph, www.razorbackrecords.com

Branko MatijaĊĦevic

Branko MatijaĊĦevic

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