Cultes des Ghoules - Sinister, or Treading the Darker Path (2018)

I can confidently state that Cultes des Ghoules are one of the finest bands out there at channeling the primitive essence of black metal into something truly nightmarish and fresh, even if that 'something' requires a degree of patience for its occasionally languid plot and pacing. They offer a parallel to the conventional, a funereal escapism that reeks of ritual and authenticity, and Sinister, or Treading the Darker Path is one of the most evil records in their discography. Granted, not all of their output sits equally with me...their debut album and some of their shorter form releases still evade my attention span, but when they're on, like with 2013's Henbane, or this latest album, they offer an experience like few others can, some of the better primitive metal you'll ever encounter.

Raw, glacial paced riffs trudge along repeatedly here in "Children of the Moon", glazed in ominous if sparse organs that add much to the weight and creepiness without needing more than a single chord or two. The drums are played with a hypnotic, basic groove to them that will leave the draw the listener in despite their criminal simplicity. The vocals of Mark of the Devil can only be compared to Big Boss of Root, only here they are intonated as more of a pure aural ritual, like a tormented specter creeping through an abandoned manor or church, warning all of the woe at their own ends. But the Polish band is just as comfortable with the shoe on the other foot, picking up speed with "The Woods of Power" or the excellent riffing "Day of Joy" that shifts between the two. They can also twist this into something even stranger as in "Where the Rainbow Ends" with its truly ominous vocals, slim but catchy bass grooves and proggy structure that grows quite psychedelic and ritualistic in its depths.

Like many 'experiential' metal albums, you'll want to set the mood for this one...as dark as possible, your only light by moon or candle, at your most downcast and foul, and just breathe it all in, its sanguine and opaque haze of atmospheric cruelty. It's depressive, frightening and almost sounds like something you ought not to have stumbled across...whether in the woods, or in an alley, or a cellar being used for something unspeakable. A formidable offering from one of the few bands out there that truly sounds like it doesn't give a damn about letting any trends or joy rub off on it, and for me this is their second strongest effort to date.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

https://cultesdesghoulesofficial.bandcamp.com/

Cultes des Ghoules - Henbane (2013)

Horror. Despite the best of intentions, it's a lot harder than you would think to evoke within the realm of music. Even metal music. I can't count how many records attempt to sound morbid and threatening but miss the mark on the sheer grounds that they've got no thought placed into their construction, no balance of atmosphere and riffing, or such a sterile and brickwalled production that they have no impact other than the technicality of their riffing. Slasher flick samples and misogynistic lyrics just aren't gonna cut it, folks. Within black metal, the problem is one of too many cooks in the kitchen copying one anothers' recipes without understanding the baseline inspiration of the very best. The same Anti-Christian lyrics, the same riffs, the same blast beats, and the same imagery can only be evoked so many times before they lose their 'edge', and many would argue that the once sharpened spikes of this niche became blunted long ago.

Well, Cultes des Ghoules of Poland are a band that understands the notion of horror all too well, and it permeates...suffuses every second of their sophomore outing Henbane. Despite its comparable atmospheric cultivation and a marginal appreciation for its back-to-basics black metal, I actually was not a fan of their 2008 effort Häxan, but its successor manages to iron out nearly every flaw. This is a daunting, mesmeric experience with a lot of character, a lot of surprises, twists and turns and corners from which leering specters might leap out and feast upon you. Chief among these is the vocalist 'Mark of the Devil', whose panoply of decrepit snarls and growls will haunt you in ways that few others are capable: maybe Attila Csihar, perhaps It (ex-Abruptum), but this guy is a nightmare given throat. Coupled with the male choir chants, organs, bells and other percussion arrangements, he manifests a ritual appeal to the album which is the metallic equivalent of a morgue full of corpses suddenly stiffening up to a seated position and having a group conversation. This was already a component of their earlier material, but here it's got so much more breadth, depth and schizoid dementia than I would have expected, and it would sell the music by itself...

Fortunately, it doesn't have to, because the music is also up to the task. One of my gripes about the debut was that the riffing progressions often felt a little too basal or mundane to really match the atmospherics, but with Henbane they've ramped up this aspect of the writing so there's an added level of texture and nuance. I still felt as if some sequences were excessively repetitive, which is to be expected with track lists that are generally eclipsing 10 minutes (some closer to 13-14), but there's a staggering variety to this material which more then makes up for a few unnecessary added cycles. You've got some straight, traditional tremolo pick permutations through pieces like "Idylls of the Chosen Damned", but quite a lot of solemn, blackened doom grooves that represent most of the more catchy moments of pieces like "The Devil Intimate" and the heavily ritualistic "Vintage Black Magic". The rhythm guitar is dowsed in this raunchy, beautiful fuzz which gives Henbane a primacy that relates it back to the early 90s and the dawning of this genre, but the bass is also quite fluid and flowing, the drums crashing along with a plenitude of fills and samples that help round out the compositions with a live feeling, like you were listening through this in some walled-in outdoor garden where the titular, psychoactive herb is grown in secrecy.

There's a particular, unnatural reaction I had to this music which I've traditionally only had when viewing some understated masterpiece of dark film and fiction. Nosferatu. The Seventh Seal. The original Wicker Man. Hammer Horror. Argento or Fulci. Lovecraft. Stoker. William Hope Hodgson. Arthur Machen. We're not talking cheap thrills, a knife in the dark, Freddy Kruger bullshit, or Paranormal Activity airheads. No, this is a tangible, spiritually draining experience which taps into the listener, overrides its survival instincts and then drags he or she towards its maw. A vast, vampiric insect building its web. It utterly destroys the band's debut, and most everything else I've heard lately. In fact, this is such a well-rationed amalgamation of the refreshing and archaic that I can't think of much else like it. Perhaps the superb Head of the Demon debut is close, but Henbane is even denser with ideas. Mandatory, riveting and astonishing, an album I've come out of much different than when I went in...

Verdict: Epic Win [9.25/10]

Cultes des Ghoules - Häxan (2008)

Häxan has been floating around for a few years already, but it has managed to spur enough interest in the underground that its seen some reissues, first on gate fold LP and cassette, and now once more in the CD format through Hell's Headbangers. It's thus far the sole full-length effort from the obscure Cultes des Ghoules, a crude and primitive Polish black metal entity who perform a style so bared to the bones that you could beat someone with this record as if you were a neanderthal. That's not to say it's all that impressive of an effort, but certainly its an effective one, with an approach not unlike the first two Barathrum albums, thick with strobing bass lines and fleshed out with raw, carnal guitars and hacking vocals.

The writing is incredibly simplistic, so much so that I found it to be the major flaw with the recording. Its obviously intentional, but the guitars are so familiar and effortless that it doesn't seem any expense was spared in actual preparation. The drums surge through periods of black, crawling doom ("Stregoica Dance") and tireless, roughshod blasting "(The Covenant and the Sacrifice)", and the bass tone is consistently feels like the driving force. Vocalist 'Mark of the Devil' adds quite a lot with his dire, disorderly presence, standing out so far from the supporting rhythm that you have to strain sometimes to hear that he's still on time. However, he's kind of cool sounding, and the band include a lot of samples, ominous chanting and ritual drum breaks to give the listener the impression that he/she is witnessing something no moral individual should set eyes or ear upon (I refer you to the endless tortured screaming at the end of the 16 minute finale, "The Impure Wedding").

Häxan is undoubtedly evil, curious and atmospheric, I only wish that they'd taken these core values and affixed them to guitar riffs worth a damn. Once in a while, such lewd and lazy note patterns will actually work out in the favor of an album, but this is sadly not one of those cases. They add very little except noise, and saunter about the more powerful bass. Outside of the samples and chants, there is nothing to take you by surprise. Considering how much Cultes des Ghoules sound like a decrepit, decaying old castle being animated into musical form, I was hoping something might leap out at me from around the corner. That I might find something in the attic. Or the basement. The everyman guitar lines detract from that possibility, especially when you've got a few songs over 10 minutes in length. The lyrics are cool, and the morbid atmosphere of the record is almost enough to offset this flaw. I'd certainly love to hear more in the style, but in the end I can't really see myself listening to this unless I want to creep someone out. I'll give it that.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10] (unravished by the Christ's light)