Review Summary: Complete disarray, and not the good kind, either.
Although a lot of hate is directed at the modern death metal scene for producing insipid, plastic and downright amateurish material from time to time, albums like Ghoulgotha’s
The Deathmass Cloak are proof that old school revivalists can be just as guilty. For every sterile technical exercise – a la Rings of Saturn – you come across, rest assured that there’s an Incantation, Autopsy or Entombed clone regurgitating material from twenty-odd years ago, only delivering it with none of the conviction possessed by their ancestors. Ghoulgotha can at least claim that they draw from an uncommon pool of influences, including Timeghoul, Moss and Gorement to name a few, the only problem being a complete inability to write a coherent song. While
The Deathmass Cloak may be enticing on paper, the execution is so inept that it’s beyond a laughing matter.
Notwithstanding the futile intro, “Gazing into Melted Night” quite literally opens the album on an awkward note, as an off-putting guitar lick gives way to a succession of power chords draped with a lead melody that sounds as if it was ripped from a Gorement rehearsal. Alas, it takes a grand total of twenty-six seconds for one to realise there is something acutely wrong with Ghoulgotha’s approach to song-writing. The somewhat ethereal lead is abruptly cut off by some bottom string chuggery, before resuming as if nothing happened, completely erasing what little atmosphere the band had established in the opening measures. The rest of the song – and album for that matter – continues in this vein, as totally incompatible motifs interrupt one and other and the songs grind to a halt over and over again. Some of the passages, such as the doom section at the start of “Austere Urns” are quite enjoyable, but Ghoulgotha’s inability to have one sequence smoothly lead into another renders the entire experience fruitless.
It’s reasonable to assume the band were going for a “dissonant” sound, but such an approach fails miserably when each constituent is as elementary as they are here. The drumming is undoubtedly the most impressive performance, but when you consider the points of comparison, that isn’t much of a recommendation. The guitar work consists almost entirely of basic, if not obtuse power chord progressions, mid-tempo tremolo lines and leads that try so hard to sound “off-kilter” they manage to sound out of place even in a sea of clumsiness. Wayne’s vocals, while commendably deep, add virtually nothing in the way of energy or atmosphere, sitting complacently in the middle-ground and blending into the mediocre surroundings. Granted, the dynamic production saves the album from being a complete and utter disaster, allowing for ample breathing space while boasting a cement-thick bottom end. Unfortunately, the content is so deplorable that
The Deathmass Cloak is almost completely unenjoyable even if, sonically, it’s pretty damn competent.
Ghoulgotha’s debut full-length could legitimately pass as a parody of the old school revival movement should its creators have just said it was, but it seems to have been made with the utmost sincerity that it borders on absurdity. Rarely will you come across a death metal album so awkward that it has you rewinding specific cuts just to ensure you heard it correctly.
The Deathmass Cloak, released barely two weeks into the new year, could make a strong case for being the worst old school death metal album of 2015 come December.
