The problem with great ideas is that they very quickly become clichés, and so it’s hard not to wince at the prospect of yet another doom band with their fingers planted deep in the occult pie. And yet, Caronte’s take is idiosyncratic and fierce of otherworldly focus, amounting to a thoroughly worthwhile restructuring of the dark and brooding proto-metal template.
With shades of In Solitude’s post-punk grandeur and wickedly convincing ritualistic undertones, these lumbering epics exist in a sonic world many galaxies away from the clumsy and contrived likes of Devil and Ancient VVisdom. Instead, this feels more like Maximum Occult Rock: menacing mantras belched from the cobwebbed crypts of Chtulhu’s subconscious and delivered with retina-singeing intensity by authentic black souls.
The driving and sinister drift of Temple Of Eagles and pitiless closer Left Hand Voodoo strike a blissful balance between primal thrust and spiritual resonance. Whether you’re lost in spliffed-up reverie or kneeling before some mendacious, arcane deity, Caronte have the substance to alter your state of mind forever./o:p
