Carcolh – The Life and Works of Death (2021)

 

The Baguette Doom Series pt. XXII: Death is doing some overtime.

The debut album from Carcolh was one of the best doom records of 2018 but it went largely unnoticed (not by me, I reviewed it. Check baguette XVIII)) ‘cause well, French traditional doom isn’t exactly Gojira. Well, good news if you haven’t heard it yet, their sophomore is even better. Formed after the demise of Marble Chariot (also covered by yours truly), a band I thought had a lot of potential but died too quickly, the Bordeaux quintet plays the exact sort of metal I crave.


Their sound is dark and rich. It moves slowly but at a steady pace and confident in its ability to keep the prisoners in their cells forever. I think the band is at their best (and they got better at it) on the longer numbers like “The Blind Goddess” or the album closer “Sepulchre”, both around ten minutes each. It’s this sort of trad doom that’s more interested in building moods than just bludgeoning you with riffs, there’s a few rare bands that can do both but they’re the top dogs. Carcolh can do it occasionally though.

The highlight of the album for me was “Aftermath”, an atmospheric piece about the First World war and the Battle of the Somme in particular. It’s a sad and mournful ballad and while it’s a break from doom metal, it’s probably the darkest moment to be found on here. Sébastien Fanton delivers one hell of a performance on there, his clean vocals fits the mood and establishes the man as the leading man in French trad doom metal. He has this pretty unique voice and his English delivery is part of the charm for me. He can be gruff, powerful or poetic.

Showing that Carcolh are also apt at punchier, faster numbers, “When the Embers Light the Way” is a groovy number with some harsh vocals and a thunderous guitar solo. Who said that doom metal can have monotonous or boring musicianship? Those guys are tight but their playing is subtle and engaging. They’re not flashy and they serve the songs well. The two guitars lineup help the band moves forward as well. With the right people, it can make a world of difference, especially when it’s time to recreate the more intricate or profound sections of those compositions.

I feel they’re an entity of their own. While, of course, their music is rooted in existing doom tropes, it’s not too easy to pinpoint where their worship altars are. When your influences are melted together is precisely when you can really call your take on a genre genuine.

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