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CAVERNOUS GATE "Voices From the Fathomless Realm"
CAVERNOUS GATE "Voices From the Fathomless Realm"
By Dr. Abner Mality
The word “cavernous” has come to have a very specific meaning in the metal world. It usually denotes murky, doom-filled death metal in a primitive vein, inspired by the sounds of INCANTATION. Well, that meaning does NOT apply to CAVERNOUS GATE, which is basically one man’s monument to the Gothic gloom and doom of England’s MY DYING BRIDE and PARADISE LOST. And while both death and doom are present here, so is an awful lot of keyboard work and darkwave sensibility.
The man who is CAVERNOUS GATE is Sebastian Korkemeier, a member of HELRUNAR and SUN OF THE SLEEPLESS. He handles every single instrument and vocal line with the exception of some brief female vocals. He obviously loves his Gothic music as well as death-doom in the Yorkshire tradition. What you think of “Voices From A Fathomless Realm” will depend on how much you like traditional Gothic music. I’m not a huge fan, so the record was a middling affair for me, but if you like BAUHAUS and SISTERS OF MERCY as much as MY DYING BRIDE, you’ll be in for a treat.
It’s a very cinematic record, with long plodding songs. The keys are super prominent, but thick guitars are here. I felt the album was at its peak with “A World In Shade”, where all aspects of the band combine perfectly to create a real death doom epic. “Conjuration” and “The Artefact” were also good and heavy songs, but the press sheets mention of the band sounding like early Swedish death metal is absolute nonsense. There’s no chainsaw guitars here. “Old Graves Stir” and “The Turning Veil” just had too many soft parts breaking up the flow for me. But the keys do create some real mood, I will give them that.
Goth metallers, look this up for sure. But those expecting Swedish death or INCANTATION style death-doom better give it a pass.
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