KARYN CRISIS' GOSPEL OF THE WITCHES
Yes! This is where it’s at. Over four and a half years have passed since Karyn Crisis’ Gospel of the Witches’ debut album, ‘Salem’s Wounds’, and its successor, ‘Covenant’, is now upon us. Karyn was, of course, previously known within the scene for fronting Crisis until 2006, and then Ephel Duath in their latter days. And it was in Duath that she hooked up with guitarist/songwriter Davide Tiso, both creatively and matrimonially, so it’s kind of a corollary they decided to continue their innovative musical journey together in Gospel, after Duath’s sad demise.
I adored ‘Salem’s Wounds’ (a clear 9.5 out of 10 from me… just a whisker off perfection), and I love ‘Covenant’ even more. Twelve further cuts deliver occult themed metal through another emotionally engaging journey that’s characterised, once again, by organically crafted contrasts. Everything sounds a hundred per cent naturally conceived, be it Tiso’s unique fretboard vocabulary that blends and contraposes the harmonic with the dissonant; or Crisis’ incredibly wide ranging voice that sees her combine ethereally beautiful clean singing with savage and bestial growls… and everything in-between. And sticksman Fabian Vestod is also more than worthy of mention here, as his wonderfully varied rhythmic contributions to each of the songs are integral to their overall affects.
At times, songs’ narratives revel in ritualistic devotion, where music and words combine in potently bewitching pleasures. At other times, it feels like incantations are at the fore; tantalizing and mesmeric mantras that are loaded with formidable yet enticing allure. The ease with which songs convey their respective atmospheres (be they darkly dissonant or delicately sublime) is not only stunning, but affectively transcendent. Music, and art in general, is born from a peripheral expression of someone’s emotions and it’s out there in the world to be engaged with on various emotional and cognitive levels within whatever particular context someone interacts with it. Once in a while, an album will come along that I find myself hooked into on an emotional level that’s inexplicably transcendent. ‘Covenant’ is one such album. For that reason, it's an easy 10/10 from me. Its mystifying and enigmatic charms are aplenty. Like the sound of that? Then go and indulge yourselves in its intriguing and enchanting essence at once!
I adored ‘Salem’s Wounds’ (a clear 9.5 out of 10 from me… just a whisker off perfection), and I love ‘Covenant’ even more. Twelve further cuts deliver occult themed metal through another emotionally engaging journey that’s characterised, once again, by organically crafted contrasts. Everything sounds a hundred per cent naturally conceived, be it Tiso’s unique fretboard vocabulary that blends and contraposes the harmonic with the dissonant; or Crisis’ incredibly wide ranging voice that sees her combine ethereally beautiful clean singing with savage and bestial growls… and everything in-between. And sticksman Fabian Vestod is also more than worthy of mention here, as his wonderfully varied rhythmic contributions to each of the songs are integral to their overall affects.
At times, songs’ narratives revel in ritualistic devotion, where music and words combine in potently bewitching pleasures. At other times, it feels like incantations are at the fore; tantalizing and mesmeric mantras that are loaded with formidable yet enticing allure. The ease with which songs convey their respective atmospheres (be they darkly dissonant or delicately sublime) is not only stunning, but affectively transcendent. Music, and art in general, is born from a peripheral expression of someone’s emotions and it’s out there in the world to be engaged with on various emotional and cognitive levels within whatever particular context someone interacts with it. Once in a while, an album will come along that I find myself hooked into on an emotional level that’s inexplicably transcendent. ‘Covenant’ is one such album. For that reason, it's an easy 10/10 from me. Its mystifying and enigmatic charms are aplenty. Like the sound of that? Then go and indulge yourselves in its intriguing and enchanting essence at once!
LABEL:
FORMAT:
Aural Music
Album
COVENANT
Review by Mark Holmes
RUNNING TIME:
48:01
RELEASE DATE:
25th October 2019
TRACK LISTING
1) Womb of the World
2) Drawing Down the Moon
3) Stretto di Barba
4) Silver Valley
5) Great Mothers
6) Benevento
7) Dea Iside
8) Janara; 9) The Hours
10) Diana Mellifica
11) Circle of White Light
12) Blood of the Mother
2) Drawing Down the Moon
3) Stretto di Barba
4) Silver Valley
5) Great Mothers
6) Benevento
7) Dea Iside
8) Janara; 9) The Hours
10) Diana Mellifica
11) Circle of White Light
12) Blood of the Mother
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
USA
"...songs’ narratives revel in ritualistic devotion, where music and words combine in potently bewitching pleasures."
