Monday 20 June 2016

Cardinals Folly - Holocaust Of Ecstasy & Freedom (Album Review)


Release date: June 03rd 2016. Label: Shadow Kingdom Records. Format: CD/DD

Holocaust Of Ecstasy & Freedom – Tracklisting

1.The Poison Test 04:01
2.Goats On The Left 07:13
3.Her Twins of Evil 06:02
4.Nocturnal Zeal (Winter Orgy) 03:34
5.Holocaust of Ecstasy & Freedom 05:59
6.Psychomania 08:20
7.La Papesse 08:05

Band Members:

Mikko Kääriäinen (bass, vocals)
Juho Kilpelä (guitar)
Joni Takkunen (drums)

Review:

Cardinals Folly return for another full on doom metal explosion with their new album Holocaust Of Ecstasy & Freedom and this time they have reached further peaks of riff laden goodness as the album is even more jam packed full of them than we have come to expect. The band are known primarily for their mixture doomy passages with the best that heavy metal offers and this album is no exception.

The sound of an ominous liquid pouring into a chalice opens the albums first track The Poison Test and from the moment the first doom riff kicks in, you know you are in for a good time. As with the previous Cardinals Folly's albums, the influence of classic N.W.O.B.H.M looms heavy not only in terms of the lyrical content of the song but this time it appears clear that in terms of a lot of the riffs especially on tracks like Goats On The Left and Twins Of Evil, that bands like Angel Witch have been a big influence on the band and this album but you also can't ever forget the doom factor which is obviously at the forefront of the sound of Holocaust Of Ecstasy And Freedom and on the title track and Nocturnal Zeal (Winter Orgy) there is a quintessential doom feel about them, check out the riffs on both of these songs although adding to the versatility of the bands sound.

There are elements of different types of metal coursing through parts of the tracks as well (the riffs and solos in the latter part of the title track are pure N.W.B.H.O.M for example) and you can throw in a few timeless death grunts in there for good measure!

The album ends with two epic doomy tracks and concludes proceedings in the best way possible. Some truly momentous riffs, focussed solos and some unhinged singing are the order of the day on penultimate track Psychomania, which is as the songs title suggests is quite a trip and is at turns utterly haunting and brilliantly deranged.

While the closing track La Papesse is a creeping behemoth of a song with a huge, lurching riff that takes proceedings over with deathlike authority and ends the album on an anthemic note with the songs final minutes coming across like prime Sabbath, it's as good as that.

It must be said though that while the riffs are the order of of the day on Holocaust Of Ecstasy & Freedom and are of course, both memorable and crushingly heavy, you cannot over look the importance of the rest of the elements of the Cardinals Folly's sound with each part as important as the previous. and as a result combine to make a perfect melding of doom and metal mastery. This is what makes Holocaust Of Ecstasy & Freedom a must listen.

Words by Gavin Brown

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