The Baguette Doom Series pt. XVIII: Risen
Risen
from the remnants of the promising but ultimately deceased Marble
Chariot (read Baguettes V and XIV), Carloclh unleashed their debut
full length back in March and they're now signed on the excellent Emanes Metal Records.
The
French quintet from Bordeaux are able to go beyond the confines of
traditional doom metal and find a sound of their own through the
somber plains of the style. They don’t sound like anyone else and
that’s already an important quality to have in 2018 doom when
everyone are worshiping
at the diminished altars of Electric Wizard or Sleep. Some
French bands like Huata or Witchthroat Serpent are guilty of this
misdemeanor. Not
Carcolh. No sir.
Something
important about Rising
Sons of Saturn is
that
it
never sounds
derivative or
forced to
evolve in a certain niche. It’s authentic and it sounds authentic.
From
the natural and subtle production to
the well written riffs (the most important component of doom),
Carcolh has everything.
After
an intriguing introduction with
some piano intertwined with their riffs near the end, the real deal
starts with the sorrowful but fat
guitars of “Signs of the Afterlife” and we’re served more
than forty minutes of top tier doom. Like any good doom bands,
Carcolh knows that
varying their tempos is the way to go. We have the fast gem in
“Master of Midnight” and the slow
dirge of the ten minutes epic “Into Eternity, I Will Rise Again” as
dichotomous examples. They
excel at all the speed they’re trying and they’re also able to
keep the slower moments interesting.
In
terms of likeness, they’re probably closer to Weird Light, France’s
best hidden doom secret. Heavy
riffs, dark atmosphere and grandiose clean vocals are their
similarities. If Carcolh’s riffs were not as good as they are, the
vocals of Sébastien Fanton would be the highlight. He’s even
better here than he was with Marble Chariot. His
strongest strength is his ability to be rough and moody while at the
same time keeping things clean. Fanton’s approach is
diverse but like the whole band, it’s focused and nothing is out of
place. He
gives us his best performance on the
heartfelt
“And the Sun Died”. On
the other hand, the
top notch solos of Olivier Blanc (now
gone from the band) add another
layer of musicality to Carcolh and I hope they’ll be as effective
on their future releases. I’d
take more bass in the mix next time though, it’s there, I can feel
it but I’d like to shake a
bit more.
From
atmospheric and
brooding to
catchy and
robust, the seven songs record explores many facets from trad doom
that aren’t always combined under the same umbrella. They mix them
with ease and panache and were able to release one of the top doom
albums of the year alongside Acolytes of Moros, Dautha or Solemn
Ceremony. What
Carcolh offers us is trad doom that can play in the major league and
for a rookie, it’s impressive. It’s obvious that those dudes
aren’t novices. They clearly knew what sound they wanted and they
did an impressive job with their debut full length. Support
French doom. Supremely good baguette.
