ALBUM REVIEW: Cult of Occult, "Anti-Life"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 01/06/2018

Label: Music Fear Satan

Haunted vocals and a primordial stew of drums and effects make this an experience like few others. Heavy, undoubtedly, but also complex their latest recording, is among their strongest, with a stifling density sure to draw doom devotees' attention.

“Anti-Life”CD//DD//2LP track listing:

1). AL

2). NI

3). TF

4). IE

The Review:

That olden creak of the bass, drum rhythms painted black and bombastic guitars deliver the sound that is as familiar as it is beloved. In the case of Cult of Occult, it is also a welcome return.

The French sludge band has had a prolific career, with six releases since 2012. "Anti-Life," their latest recording, is among their strongest, with a stifling density sure to draw doom devotees' attention.

Their 2011 self-titled album is a good look at what makes Cult of Occult so formidable. Its Full of Hell-style crushing layers of volume and meandering riffs have long been part of the band's arsenal. When it premiered the 12-minute "NI" earlier in the year, the slowed down feel gave Cult of Occult's particular approach a sort of burn that is a treat as it is a trudge. The track possesses a kind of torment that a great sludge song can do, with paralyzing rhythms and, as here, its contemptuous chords that soar just over your head. It was a fine introduction to the new sounds the band has cooked up, and it gets better across the four-track, nearly 60-minute recording.

"AL" begins the album with a searing atmosphere. It takes a little patience, though, as the track goes in for more than two of its 15 minutes before the music picks up. Once the song gets moving, however, it comes surging forward with intense guitar and pressure cooker bass. The lo-fi, thick tempo of the opener sets an assertive tone for the album. "NI," the second cut, was a steely introduction to the album, but "AL" delivers on its promise.

"TF" builds off of "NI" with more of that multi-dimensional blend of sound – venomous bass work and blown-out guitars carve out a bruising pace, in the most lugubrious fashion imaginable. Haunted vocals and a primordial stew of drums and effects make this an experience like few others. Heavy, undoubtedly, but also complex in its arrangement and a great experience for doom and sludge fans looking for more than plodding riffs and songs about dwarves. Similarly, "IE" continues this nagging dread composed throughout "Anti-Life," with a sedated tenor that spirals into some of Cult of Occult's best departures.

Seldom can a band doing this style create something original with this level of output. However, Cult of Occult succeeds at making an album with a dark opalescence that rises above expectations.

“Anti-Life” is available here

Band info: facebook || bandcamp