OK here’s something strange in your neighbourhood. A 20-minute E.P, both tracks EXACTLY 10 minutes long. Not 9:52 and 10:05 but both bang on the ten-minute mark. I know that should not effect me as much as it has but as a DJ I spend a lot of my time looking at the lengths of tracks and this strikes me as wonderfully precise and spooky. You know what, that is not a bad way of describing “Hall of Maati” by Stuttgart’s Crestfallen Queen . This extended player (which could have been called a single really) follows on from their debut full length, 2019’s Queen of Swords.
Well I gotta lay my cards on the table – I listen to a lot of psyche and Doom metal, some for review, some to play on the radio and the rest just for witchy and warlock shits and giggles. I thought I was getting a bit jaded and cynical and prepared to trot out some wafty platitudes but, by the old gods and new, if this dusky bunch haven’t grabbed me by the short and curlies. I am on my 5th listen to this E.P in less than 24 hours and I keep finding more in it each time whilst also being dragged so far into its grooves I completely forget how I got there and what I was going to write.
With a line-up that looks like a particularly testing board on Countdown (this whole one letter thing is creeping out of Black Metal into Doom now) Crestfallen Queen weave psychedelic rock and Prog through their classic Doom sound creating a sound that bridges the gap between 70’s occult rock, 80’s doom metal and modern grooviness. The two tracks on offer here – “Eclipse of Truth” and “The Seventh Hour” are given the time and space they need to evolve, taking the listener on a journey that contains big beefy foot stomping parts,
“Eclipse of Truth” has some great classic metal parts that bring to mind Candlemass and Dio from yesteryear and bands like Alunah and the folk psyche stylings of Jess and the Ancient Ones as well. E’s vocals are warm and soulful but also exuding a great power – as she bellows “Who do you think you are?” I start to feel guilty! The guitar solo over wind noise that morphs into astral sonics is pure joy and when it segues into a Black Metal section of gruff vocals and ice-cold harmonics it is like an icicle slapped on the back of the neck. Shocking yet oddly refreshing. The song seems to decompose into eeriness and distorted drums before being reborn as the into to “The Seventh Hour” with its folky, occult, 70’s intro. It grows from a bluesy, Grace Slick style psyche crooner to a full on doomy, foot on the monitor, horns flashing rocker with beautiful layered vocals and then E spits venom with threats for a transgressor. The track builds into a glorious pagan cacophony of thunderous drums, rolling bass and spiralling guitars before reining it back to a classic metal riff.
Spending twenty minutes in the company of Crestfallen Queen is fascinating walk through the best of psyche doom through the ages with pit stops in the world of Black Metal, Traditional Metal and the modern world of stoner. Great atmospheres and definitely a band to watch out for.
(8.5/10 Matt Mason)
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