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CEREKLOTH
In The Midst Of Life We Are In Death

Hells Headbangers (2013)
Rating: 8/10

I’ve never really known what a Danish death metal band sounds like? Sorry if I’m naïve here, but one can usually tell whether a band is from Sweden, or a certain part of the United States etc, but Cerekloth are a new one to me, and I really like them.

In The Midst Of Life We Are In Death has, in my opinion, one of the best album introductions I’ve ever heard – a slow-building, simmering instrumental called ‘Praeludium’, which in reality could quite literally start any metal album. It’s simply a slow heartbeat of a drum with a droning guitar, but there’s something so sinister about this sort of ominous brooding intro that Slayer could have written it back in the 80s.

Thankfully, the introductory churn is not mere fluke, as it builds to the epic strains of ‘Born Of The Void’, where vocalist JBP jumps in with his hoarse growls amidst a waterfall of booming drums from Nis Larsen. The track rarely kicks up the dust, and only two minutes from the end does it cause a scene, but I’m suddenly hearing a sound that could possibly be described as distinctly Danish – never quite reaching the buzz-saw riffing of those Swedish bands, and certainly not hinting at the colder aspects of German death metal, this is still overtly gothic and precise with a doomy feel.

Cerekloth were formed in 2008 and they debuted with the Pandemonium Prayers EP in the same year, which was impressive in places, but it’s not until now that the band has really made a mark on me. The band members have certainly done the rounds over the years, and it seems that even after this impressive full-length debut they are on hiatus, which seems odd considering the effect this record has had on me. In fact, it’s one of my favourite albums of 2013.

There’s a splash of blood-soaked melody here which gives the album a really classic feel. The guitars of A. Larsen and Morten Adsersen are tight and well structured to cope with JBP’s raspy vocals, while the drums and bass (the latter courtesy of Martin Leth Andersen) are meaty and ominous, taking the album to a darker plateau that at times hints at ritualistic moods, such is the hypnotic quality of tracks like ‘Halo Of Syringes’ (which has been improved drastically since the 2011 EP of the same name). Then we’re treated to the stark, caustic vibe of ‘Nest Of Disease’, and the dry ice sludge of epic closer ‘The Reapers Instant Is Our Eternity’ with its low, gurgled vocals and weighty doom-laden riff.

These Danes successfully merge frosty, albeit dense sounding black metal with wintry death metal and hypnotic, foreboding doom. Despite far from being a perfect album, these guys clearly have the potential to put Danish extreme metal on the map. Although for the most part this is a slow, sinister record, I found myself immersed by its darkness and would quite happily revisit its pitch black nooks and crannies.

Neil Arnold

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