Cold In Berlin: Rituals Of Surrender

The fourth album from London’s Cold In Berlin finds them deep in Rituals Of Surrender. One thing though is sure and certain, this latest album sounds like anything other than a resigned wave of the white flag. No, this band are a proud, bold slab of doom and no mistake. Led by the sense shattering voice of Maya Berlin, she is the only crack in the dark - a vocally glinting blade in the gloom that slices silently through the air before making ears splinter for a ten mile radius. That all this is achieved with a voice that never veers from a clarity that can initially take the breath away is possibly the biggest surprise. And yet, this lady is arguably the only link to the trashy post-punk that first started this band’s journey. A decidedly retro echo meaning this singer could as easily front Bauhaus as she could Black Sabbath, or indeed Cold In Berlin.

Musically the link with the Sabs couldn’t be any more clear, with the slow grind of “Monsters� trickling into your senses in a manner that means you’ll be finding it in the nooks and crannies of your head for many an hour after. Cold In Berlin are no one lady show though, guitarist Adam and bassist Lawrence whipping up a storm of riffs that soon hit with hurricane force, whether that be through the harsher smash of “Frantic� or the proud proclamation of “The Power�.

What is maybe lacking from the onslaught is a little light to temper the pitch black, for even the doom-fathers of old understood the need to thrust through the night with rutting shards of hope that charged the senses and heightened the emotions. Here, however, it’s a concept that is intentionally discarded for an unrelenting attack that does seem to be somewhat blunt by the time you reach the rather startling conclusion of “Sacred Ground�.

That all said, if doom is what you’re after, then with Rituals Of Surrender, doom is what you’ll get - and with Maya leading from the front, top notch doom at that.

Track Listing
1. The Power
2. Dark Days
3. Avalanche
4. Monsters
5. Frantic
6. Temples
7. Your Body/My Church
8. Shadowman
9. Sacred Ground

Added: October 12th 2019
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Cold In Berlin @ bandcamp
Hits: 854
Language: english

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