Based upon their childlike and almost self-parodyingly reductionist name and rather Dungeons and Dragons-inspired cover art, I expected Dark Castle to either be unintentionally hilarious or the most abrasive, evil, soul-withering doom metal band I have ever heard. Much to my surprise, they were neither. This male/female doom-psych duo has crafted an impressive, assured, and surprisingly melodic debut.
Florida's Dark Castle first appeared in 2008 with an elaborately packaged self-released demo (Flight of the Pegasus) that garned a good deal of favorable attention from the metal press and other bands (including Relapse Records' Minsk). It is easy to see why this unsigned band turned so many heads, as there are several obvious elements that separate them from their peers. For one, drummer Rob Shaffer is also the vocalist. Secondly, most of the guitar work is handled by a woman (Stevie Floyd), which is extremely rare in the extreme metal milieu. Finally, there is no bass, which is strikingly ballsy in a genre that is so intimately associated with low-frequency amplifier worship (also, they are not sludgy or dull).
"Awake In Sleep" begins the album with an extremely cool and crushing riff and thunderous, glacial drums and makes it clear that a bass player is entirely unnecessary. Dark Castle have a very pared-down and spacious sound and the songs are generally short, punchy, and skillfully constructed. While Shaffer's vocals strictly adhere to the traditional death metal growl school, the guitar work is usually melodic and hook-y enough to make the songs memorable and easily differentiated.
Floyd's guitar work throughout Spirited Migration is inspired and ambitious. Though she almost never takes a solo, she makes her virtuosity abundantly clear throughout (most obviously on the acoustic instrumental title track). Also, even though much of Spirited Migration is quite heavy, it is rare for her to lapse into traditional powerchord riffing at all. Being unencumbered by other musicians works extremely well here, as it allows Floyd to use tonal colors and create space in ways that would be lost in more cluttered ensembles (such as the echo-ey arpeggios in “Grasping the Awe"). Also, aside from using complex chords and embellishing her riffs with unusual flourishes, she also has a knack for making proggy psychedelia sound unindulgent (particularly in "Weather the Storm").
Rob Shaffer's drumming is similarly impressive, albeit for different reasons. He maintains an astonishing degree of restraint here and focuses on both simplicity and providing the maximum amount of dynamic impact. I have to admit that I am somewhat disappointed by the complete lack of double-bass and complicated fills, but I recognize they are egregiously overused in the genre and that it would run counter to Shaffer's pared-to-the-bone, slow-motion bludgeoning aesthetic. However, he artfully compensates for their absence by building intensity with expert crash cymbal and high-hat work (and I loved the tribal toms in "Growing Slow"). I suspect that is no simple accomplishment when one is also saddled with lead vocal duties.
I have a few minor grievances with this album: the drums are a bit too minimal for my taste, the songs all have a similar pace, and some more variety would be welcome (such as Floyd's spoken-word verses on "Grasping the Awe"). That said, however, this is an undeniably promising debut by a band that is doing almost everything exactly right. Rob and Stevie seem like a very intelligent and focused pair, so I expect they will only continue to get better and better with future albums. Dark Castle have a surprising amount of character for a metal band and they have already earned favorable comparisons to Isis (before their debut has even been officially released), so it is inevitable that they will soon take their rightful place in the bong-wielding pantheon of art metal luminaries.
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