Toil / Forbidden Citadel of Spirits

An odd one here with just one track by each band. Toil deliver a piece in their usual style, which is something approaching depressive rock mixed with Black Metal. In the case of “A Canvas of Morbid Figures” it is a mournful tune with slow, plodding drumming a nebulous fuzzy guitar sound and wondering clean bass with shrill, distant vocals. The drums are tastefully bad – plonking lo-fi sounds somewhere in the background. As the band breaks out a blast-beat the obscure effect this music has on the listener comes into full force. It’s interesting because it combines elements of psychedelic rock with the extremes of Black Metal, but much better at album length. Check out their album “Obscure Chasms” for full impact.

FCOS offer a title “Complete Unknown Residual Evilness” of ripping lo-fi fuck-off Black Metal with Ismaelta’s distinctive vocal rasp & echo tap on the ends of lyric lines. The music is basically a noisy churn of hellish distorted noise. This gives me a very dirty feeling, as it always had. As if I have just come in contact with some sort of virus. The sound is different from the demos though – more needly and digital. I think I preferred the warmer organic sound from before, but this is equally disgusting, so all is well. The track stands in grating contrast to Toil’s comparatively soft and streamlined sound.

Originally published in Procession of Black Doom zine #4