Review: Cardinal Wyrm “Cast Away Souls”

Cardinal Wyrm “Cast Away Souls”
Svart Records

CARDINAL WYRM is relative young band which was founded in 2009. But contrary to EXCUSE, for example, in this band play experienced musicians. Especially man who was one of the founders and takes care about guitar, Nathan Verrill, should be known to some of you from Thrash Metal EPITAPH (this one from San Francisco). So in some way C. W. has its roots in 1990 when EPITAPH was born.

“Cast Away Souls” is third full-length in history of CARDINAL WYRM. Two earlier were “Another Holy Trinity” (2013) and “Black Hole Gods” (2014). There’re also singles: “The Persecuted Crown”, “The Enlightened Dreamer” (both from 2013) and “Enter the Eternal Fire” (2015). I know also that after releasing of “Cast Away Souls”,  the band participated in split which’s peculiar tribute to JOY DIVISION with Finnish MANSION. The guys say that they play Doom Metal, by the way. Well, I agree with this term, even if seemingly it has not so many to do with roots (at least, let’s say, English ones) of Doom Metal. Of course I can hear influences of other genres here, too. By the way, the fact of covering JOY DIVISION says something about this, don’t you think? If you don’t, just listen to this legendary band and you’ll get to know that their music had never anything to do with any kind of Metal.

So, the music, created by Nathan and Pranjal (Tiwari – drums, voc – since 2012) is “calm”, to describe it by one word. But in the same time there’s something dark in that. To be honest this dark atmosphere is here all the time – even if it means a little other thing than you maybe expect. It’s any music waltz with grave vocal. YEAH!!! That’s truth that riffs are mostly heavy and somber. They’re not so complicated and change as often as music like that necessitates. Well, such whole music indeed. And it’s also about “Lost Orison” where except male and female vocals singing in “romantic”, the bass play very important role. Bass isn’t the only instrument here.

Anyway, everything’s in slow tempos, but there’re also some delicate speed-ups. Pranjal’s vocal is mostly (except some short moments), clean singing. So it’s in some way melodic and so on, but in the same time there’s something disquieting in that, something what even can make gooseflesh.

So… We have here very good band. It’s surely not music for everyone. I even think that circle of listeners of such creativity isn’t too big, but these of you who like somber music (which’s not DSBM) will surely love to it!