Thursday 20 June 2019

Dead Sacraments - Celestial Throne (Album Review)


Release date: May 11th 2019. Label: Self Released. Format: DD/Vinyl

Celestial Throne – Tracklisting

1.VOID SUMMONING 09:03
2.MEN, NOW LORDS 10:06
3.CRACKING THE CELESTIAL THRONE 09:38
4.STARS FALL, STARS RISE 12:26

Members

Brendan, Mark, Nader, Ryan

Review

Celestial Throne is the debut album from Doom/Stoner Metallers – Dead Sacraments – and it’s a gloriously heavy duty DOOMED OUT EXPERIENCE.

The first thing that drew me to this album was the fantastic album cover which perfectly outlines what to expect on this album. If you’re a fan of Progressive Doom Metal merged with heavy amounts of Psychedelic Stoner Metal then Dead Sacraments have you covered on all fronts. The album is fantastically heavy from the start with an OTT theatrical edge which allows the band to create a dark and gloomy atmosphere.

The four songs contained on the album run between 10 to 12 minutes each and the band play a mixture of different sounding Doom/Stoner Metal riffs that have a definitive modern sound. The opening song – Void Summoning – has a deep Sabbathian influence running throughout and the band add levels of Drone, Doom, Psych and Stoner Metal for a deeply rich and varied sound. The vocals are quite intense and very much at the centre of Dead Sacrament’s overall sound.

The gloomy lyrics are quite insightful at times especially when matched against the dark progressive sounds the album holds from start to finish. The production is good though the vocals can be lost at times amongst the heavy distorted guitar riffs that appear on the later stages of the album.

The other three songs match the intensity and deep progressive themes contained on the opening song with “Men, Now Words” and “Stars Fall, Stars Rise” being the standout songs on the album.

Celestial Throne is a haunting and deeply moving album that has the perfect balance between Progressive Doom Metal and Psychedelic Stoner Metal. If you’re a fan of YOB, Black Sabbath and Mastodon then Dead Sacraments is a band who will speak volumes to you.

I bought this album on a whim and I’m glad that I did. As this is an epic sounding album that will surprise you in ways that you don’t actually expect.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

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