CASTLE
Evil Remains
In the back of my mind, I knew I’d spent time in the company of CASTLE, the trio from San Francisco, before. A search of the archives found I’d reviewed their fourth album “Welcome To The Graveyard” way back in 2016 and I’d enjoyed it.
It’s been six years since “Deal Thy Fate” was released and things have been on a low simmer in the CASTLE camp. Now though, they are back with a sixth album “Evil Remains”, their first for Hammerheart Records, and a line-up that features Liz Blackwell (vocals/bass), Mat Davis (guitar/vocals) and drummer Mike Cotton.
Two singles have already been released, “100 Eyes” and the fuzzed-up pounding of “Black Spell”, and both whetted the appetite for an album that does the simple things well. It’s not overlong at 37 minutes and just eight tracks, but it packs quite the punch in that time.
Opening with “Queen Of Death”, there’s an instant warmth that CASTLE generates through their retro sound. Warmth with sinister overtones of course, for as you can no-doubt work out from the song titles, the band’s main themes are occult based, with dark desires and bewitching guile part of their overall mesmeric approach. It’s dark doom metal with an enticing vibe. Nothing original, but when done well, it works superbly. This could quite easily be the soundtrack for the cinematic “Hammer Horror” movies in the sixties and early seventies. Like Lucifer, Blood Ceremony, Castle Rat and Alunah, the band combine heavy riffs plundered from the Sabbath locker and combine them with a swirling psychedelic element. It’s intoxicating stuff, if you like this style of music. If dancing in a swirling pattern of riffs and enchanting vocals doesn’t conjure up excitement, then so be it.
New single “Nosferatu Nights” (video due out on 4th September) features some excellent guitar work, the band working cohesively to bring forward their driving sound. For a trio, they often make a lot more noise than maybe expected with Blackwell’s bass big but not drowning out Davis’ lead work, whilst Cotton’s drumming is just right, a little chaotic but not over played. It all adds to a heady mix which works.
“Deja Voodoo” (I see what they did there!) is a swirling mixture, with Blackwell’s vocals adding everything you need: deep, earthy one minute, soaring high the next. There is a drive behind each song that demands you pay attention and at the very least, nod the head and tap the foot. But this music really demands that you twist, swirl, wave and groove. Listen to penultimate song “She” with its infectious chorus and smart bursts of guitar over a piledriver of a riff, and you will soon move too.
“Evil Remains” is a welcome return by a band who sit in a niche yet vital part of the metal world. They are a band that make this style look easy, and despite the inevitable comparisons with peers, this album stands alongside the best in the witchy doom arena.
Paul Hutchings