Liquid Darkness

Calliophis are a doom/death band hailing from Germany and in 2021 they are back with their third full length “Liquid Darkness”. While elements of both sub-genre have been woven into the music I would argue that the doom portion in this case is the dominating factor, not only because of the continuously slow tempo but also the heavy focus on mournful harmonies and a deep and all-consuming atmosphere. I am not familiar with any of their previous works, but based on this album these gentlemen are experts when it comes to crafting music that is able to crawl under the listener’s skin and leave him back with a mixture of various emotions.

The riffs on this record are absolutely mountainous, loud and droning crashes of despair raining down on you. The atmosphere is haunting throughout the whole running time of more than one hour, relying mainly on melancholy and sorrow, provided by the captivating key melodies of the lead guitars. The songs often reach a peak with things exploding into a cacophony of roaring vocals and hard hitting guitars, before calmly leading into the following sections. Some tracks flow with a distinct funeral doom vibe, but expand into absolutely massive sound featuring some quicker tempo riffs and technical drum beats. The end result is nothing short of monolithic glory and should satisfy each fan of the genre. The music is absolutely soul-binding from the very first moments of the title track, with grandeur being prevalent throughout the entire work, and once you let the album work its spell upon you it won’t let you go before the last accords have faded.

Calliophis create a far darker tone than a lot of similar acts, with slow and depressive guitar lines backed by strident main chords and the powerful beat of the rhythm section. Whenever they up the tempo they attack with some chugging death-doom riffs and a mid-tempo groove, combining brilliantly with the unsettling mood. The vocals are seriously impressive, displaying an emotive tone that contrasts excellently with the suffocating instrumentation. Despite the songs often exceeding the ten minutes mark there is enough going on to keep the listener engaged. The flow of the tracks and the whole album in its entirety is nearly flawless and Calliophis have a fantastic feeling for build-ups and calmer sections which are often used in the middle of the songs to create a few moments to reflect and drown in the fogginess.

There are many laudable elements like the the incredibly talented performances, the creative and varied songwriting as well as the crushing sound. The production is more or less perfect and very dynamic. The guitars sound crunchy without taking anything away from the more fragile melodies, the drums have a nice punch and the bass is loud enough to be recognized. Such a polished mix helps to fully grasp every detail and concentrate on the different layers which make “Liquid Darkness” stand out from the pack. If you want a fitting soundtrack for the approaching days of fall do not hesitate to check out Calliophis. Chances are you will find an album to get fully immersed into.

Since regrouping in 2015 and releasing their sophomore album Cor Serpentis 2 years later, German troupe Calliophis have taken vast strides to arrive at this third opus. While Cor Serpentis solidified the quintet’s status as a reliable doom death outfit, Liquid Darkness sees them moving with a certain ease through grim slow riffing and forlorn emotions, as well as adding new elements in the form of simplistic, yet atmospheric, post-rock clean guitar and melodies. These 6 songs retain the sprawl typical of more relaxed forms of doom, spreading across over an hour and even veering towards funeral doom as the extremely slow and sombre ‘Fratricide’ paces out the end of the album. It’s a tribute to Calliophis’s improvement that the watchword of Liquid Darkness is consistency, whereas their debut Doomsday couldn’t decide what direction to head in.

Significantly for an album of such gradual means, the slow pace carries with it a feeling of encompassment and final destination; not only at the end of ‘Fratricide’, where calming synths round out a heartfelt experience, but also from the outset of the title track, which dwells in those amniotic post-rock guitars before sighing into crushing chords and another of Calliophis’s mythical narratives told through Thomas’s low rattling growls. As with other artists of this ilk such as Shape Of Despair and Slow, the heaviness of guitars and vocals largely turns in on itself to create a relaxed mood, especially as many songs stop for breath a couple of times before resuming the groaning riffing. If you like just shutting your eyes and letting big music wash over you, choosing Liquid Darkness would be a smart move.


Originally written for Metalegion #9 - www.metalegion.com