DARK ESSENCE
Naming yourself after a former brothel and tipping your hat to gig buddies Taake seem like quiet but wearyingly conscious nods towards ‘edginess’ in this day and age. Musically things are fine, with the band having pivoted from a more hardcore sound to one swaddled in numerous shadowy elements. A waft of Godspeed You! Black Metal Emperor pomp opens proceedings before the full-bore heavy metal clangour erupts, taking in the scything black metal of late 90s Immortal, the ritual gothiness of Atriarch and elements of Midnight’s pockmarked rock’n’roll. It’s all deftly played if sonically somewhat safe and familiar, coalescing most effectively for the title track and the memorably intense Ormegard.
■■■■■■■■■■