Cerekloth: In The Midst Of Life We Are In Death

The past several years have seen no shortage of bands seeking to recapture the glorious murk of death metal's halcyon days. There have been rousing successes, the pummeling might of Graves of the Archangels still rings in this reviewer's ears, and plenty of also-rans who faded from memory as soon as their albums ended. Into this crowded ring the Danish horde Cerekloth have thrown their hat with their debut album In The Midst Of Life We Are In Death.

Their 2008 EP Pandemonium Prayers left very little impression on me delivering a serviceable if bland dose of Floridian style death metal. Fortunately their next release, 2011's 3-song Halo of Syringes EP (love that name), was a marked improvement and saw the band slowing down, incorporating eerie melodic lines reminiscent of French black metal and a much denser sound heavily laden with atmosphere. To be fair there is hardly a shortage of old-school death metal acts aiming for the murky/atmospheric side of the coin but Cerekloth's ability to weave in prominent and sullen melody into the songs helped set them apart. That EP wasn't a reinvention of the rule book but it witnessed a band moving from a color-in-the-lines sound indistinguishable from a zillion other acts to something more unique and self-identifying.

With their first proper album Cerekloth have continued to build upon the sound of Halo of Syringes, the title track of that EP is included here in re-recorded form, and produced a strong if not exactly earth shaking slab of death metal. Their knack for blending Blut aus Nord / Deathspell Omega-esque dissonant guitar lines with churning death metal remains intact and continues to be one of their most unique attributes. The songs crawl along at a constant mid-tempo pace but the lack of tempo variation doesn't detract all that noticeably from the listening experience. Part of this can be attributed to the fact that only three songs break the five minute mark, and only one hits seven minutes which fittingly is the last track, thus preventing songs from becoming overly repetitive. The other part of the equation is that the band has just enough gas in the tank to pen material that proves commanding and forceful while you're listening even if most of the riffs won't stick in the head after the track ends.

Sometimes a more-than-the-sum-of-its-part effect can carry an album, it's very much true here, but it's also nice when the material is memorable enough that you anticipate each part before hearing it after only a few listens and Cerekloth have sadly not quite transcended that barrier yet. As with the recent Krypts release Cerekloth have fashioned a slow-burn death metal album that takes it's time and never rushes the listener but also doesn't to much to knock you out of your seat.

Track Listing
1. Praeludium 02:41
2. Born of the Void 04:55
3. Within the Hollow Crown 03:43
4. Halo of Syringes 06:52
5. Nest of Disease 04:00
6. Mesmerizing Holy Death 05:15
7. When Outcast Become Kings 03:34
8. The Reapers Instant is Our Eternity 07:05

Added: April 16th 2013
Reviewer: Ryan Skow
Score:
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Language: english

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