Strigoi – Viscera
Strigoi – Viscera
Season of Mist
Release Date: 30/09/22
Running Time: 46:27
Review by Rick Eaglestone
9/10
The unsettling, Blackened Death Doom side project from Paradise Lost’s Greg Mackintosh Strigoi return with their second album “Viscera” and at this point it would be incredibly remiss of me to not acknowledge the fantastic album artwork by Brian Sheehan at Legerdemain Art who has managed to create something so fitting and ominous looking even before any music has played.
The sense of lurking dread appears almost instantly with the opening track ‘United in Viscera’ its elements of “Gothic” running through it with a newer darker shadow looming over. Short and swift by no means less impactful the OSDM fuelled ‘King of All Terror’.
Back to the sinister with ‘An Ocean of Blood’ – slow brooding riffs and heart pounding drums galore before another short track absolutely brimming with brutality. ‘Napalm Forest’ has grimy feel reminiscent of Nailbomb – I am really enjoying the inclusion of the shorter tracks, as they have real fury behind them and really balance out the slower elements of the album.
Highlight track of the album for me is absolutely ‘Hollow’ it perfectly encapsulates the mood and aesthetic of “Viscera”. Don’t believe me? Go familiarise yourself once more with the album’s artwork and make a point of watching the accompanying video for the track by Dehn Sora. Also, this track has some filthy bass parts, which quite frankly I adore. I really did not know how the band could follow that but then ‘A Begotten Son’ starts and it’s honestly a perfect fit, as the background soundscapes amongst the chaos are sublime.
‘Bathed in a Black Sun’ carries on the same vein but with haunting backing vocals, which is followed by another standout track for me ‘Byzantine Tragedy’ – again some subtle parts that pull stich it together with a blunt, rusty, sewing needle. The last of the shorter tracks ‘Redeemer’ is very much in keeping with the others before the final and longest track of the album ‘Iron Lung’ grabs the listener into a pit of despair and abject misery with its Doom-laden delivery.
This album is brimming with pure misery, and I just cannot get enough of it.
‘An Ocean Of Blood’ Official Video
TRACKLISTING:
01. United In Viscera
02. King of All Terror
03. An Ocean of Blood
04. Napalm Forest
05. Hollow
06. A Begotten Son
07. Bathed in a Black Sun
08. Byzantine Tragedy
09. Redeemer
10. Iron Lung
LINE-UP:
Greg Mackintosh – Vocals & Guitar
Chris Casket – Bass
Guido Zima – Drums
Ben Ash – Guitar
LINKS:
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