Artist: Cryptic Tales
Title: VII Dogmata of Mercy
Type: Album
Label: Empire Records
“VII Dogmata of Mercy” oozes Polish Black Metal at every level, none more so than the first track “Purgatory”. It is majestic, bleak, razor-sharp, rasping, discomforting and comes from another world where Satan reigns supreme. Keyboards whistle discreetly in the background, conveying the sense of bats fluttering in the filthy air. It’s impressively horrible and there’s no let-up to take breath. “Towards Modern Darkness” starts more tunefully, but it’s all relative. We’re soon being spat at and shredded in customary fashion. The guitars blaze up and down, looking for any opportunity to seek out and exploit the weak. The harshness and the constant changing of direction create a chaotic maelstrom of Emperor-style proportions, but in this case it’s not symphonic. Instead it’s simply layer upon layer of darkness. “Valley of the Dolls II” steps up the assault. The dirty blackened atmosphere remains. It’s strangely catchy … like swine flu and distinctly memorable. Occasional moments of classic horror intervene at the end. Then we’re subject to another violent attack in the form of “Set the Unholy Icons Free”, another track dominated by a powerful and hooky riff, and imperious guitar and drum work. The glacial style has the ring of fellow Poles Luna ad Noctum about it. It’s as if a dark story is being told. A change of mood in the middle along with a nice change of tempo and those excellent guitar touches all make this an absorbing track. “In Immortality” starts with the sounds of the swamp beast. The gentle acoustic strains don’t sound quite as true or gentle as they might be. Sure enough, a mighty roar precedes another ghastly melody. This measured track breaks while the vocalist croaks. The riff seems innocuous, and works enticingly up and down like a pendulum of doom. There’s a lot going on but it’s consistent and hangs together well. The atmosphere is more typically horrible than violent. “Like in the Darkest Stormy Nights” is just that – a turbulent piece of Black Metal, uniting the formulaic themes of Satan’s whore, the God of War, death and freezing winds. It’s not perhaps the strongest track musically, but it’s nevertheless powerful and atmospheric. “VII Dogma of Mercy” starts in funereal Doom fashion – Cryptic Tales were once a Doom band. As on “In Immortality” before it, an interesting aspect is the way that a standard rhythm is played slightly off key to create a discomforting and disturbing feel. The rhythm in this case is creepy, and of course dark, and it pervades the black night like a disease. Of course it all ends horribly with the sound of bats.
Cryptic Tales have been around since 1989. Although they’ve not released much and nothing since 1996 until this one, they’ve had a lot of time to reflect and produce their own brand of atmospheric and grim intensity. They’ve done it well. Every track on this album is good. It’s definitely at the colder and bleaker end of the spectrum, ranking with Luna ad Noctum and Devilish Impressions rather than the more bellicose Behemoth while being similarly relentless and majestic. “VII Dogmata of Mercy” is a grand exposition of Black Metal.
http://www.myspace.com/cryptictalesband
http://www.cryptictales.pl
http://www.empire-records.com.pl
Andrew Doherty
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