So there I was bemoaning a horror themed album for lacking in the key ingredient and along comes this. Surely Vincent Crowley and his team made up of past members of laid to rest Acheron won’t be making that mistake? The follow up to 2021 release ‘Beyond Acheron’ proves that horror is very much at the heart here and does so setting the template with the impactful Jerry Goldsmith like strains of opening intro ‘VI VI VI’ in just 48 seconds. From here the fear is a flowing as we visit that accursed residence at 112 Ocean Avenue Amityville. Metal and doom are the key components along with flies and priests biting off more than they can chew. It’s a timely song as a new documentary has just been devoured and the subject has fascinated since the 70s. Long snaky solos spiral out and Crowley recants the grizzly tale with gurgling and gargling vocals that allow you to follow it perfectly.
From here we get, as the title suggests, an anthology of horror that’s creepy and ghoulish fun. The briny depths are next as we confront ‘That Which Lurks Beneath The Sea.’ Bells clang and our boat rocks on choppy waters. It suitably channels Lovecraftian lore and the spoken parts and fragrant melodic motion from the guitars along with a section of choral chanting makes this a haunting passage over foggy waters. ‘Under The Hanging Tree’ suggests something witchy and a place “down near the swamp where evil comes alive” and executions were dished out. Bodies swing somewhat gently, it’s a bit of a doomed ballad and one tinged with sorrow, although inevitable revenge lurks in the crags. Once you get over groaning at a title that would have Robert Louis Stevenson turning in his grave things pick up pace wise with ‘Nowhere To Hyde.’ Romping along with an urgent clamour it’s a mad scientist story everyone will know and be able to bang heads along to. Chugging riffs and a mid-paced groove make this a deliciously dark potion.
Crowley has made it quite clear that apart from horror it is a love of bands such as Candlemass and King Diamond that has inspired him here and the twin guitar play which is allowed to sprawl through these numbers provides the evidence. The slower gambit along with it provides a classic sounding flow to the songs and the death growls take it in a direction that should be enjoyed by those looking for more Necrophagian extreme elements too. Boxes are ticked with songs about werewolves, complete with some Iron Maiden styled guitar flourishes and exotic voodoo rituals. The tales have the length necessary to draw you into their odious storytelling. There’s plenty of charm about it all and the songs get under the skin over repeated listens. To cap it all off there’s a King Diamond cover at the end in the form of ‘Killer.’ Don’t worry too much if you are genuinely scared of falsetto shrieks, there are none here. Delivering us to houses that drip blood in the dead of night this is an anthology where further chapters are limitless. Enter the crypt via the following links…. If you dare!
(8/10 Pete Woods)
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