Gargoyle - "Reborn in Blasphemy" (Shadow Kingdom Records, 2016)

Band: Gargoyle
Title: Reborn in Blasphemy
Genre: Doom metal
Time: 24 min
Year: 2016
Rating: 73/100












The Gargoyle is one of those bands that I review for a precise reason: their nationality. In fact, the Gargoyle are Italians like me but, if I am Roman, they come from Reggio Calabria (Calabria). They released the DIY demo “Reborn in Blasphemy” on CD on 30^th March 2016, now re-released on cassette by the US label Shadow Kingdom Records with a new song in addition to the original 3 tracks. Hence, now we’ll discover what have to say to us these 4 hangmen of which their fantastic logo was made by Damien Thorne of the landsmen black/thrashers Bunker 66!

As states the promo sheet, “Reborn in Blasphemy” is the same title of a seminal demo of the Dismember, pioneers of the Swedish death metal. So, is death metal the music of Gargoyle? NOT A FUCKIN’ BIT! In fact, their creed is based on a doom metal so fuckin’ dark to be impregnated sometimes by a damned black metal aura, like in the pachydermatous and suffocating “The Whisperer in the Darkness” (the bonus track of almost 9 minutes!) but not forgetting that the very dark vibe of the music is also due to a low-fi production with some painful feedback here and there. Besides, the doom metal of Gargoyle has even a very fuckin’ ritualistic and mystic aura that is given, especially, by the hallucinated and very expressive singer (or singers?) able to ranges from spectral whispers to mantric clean vocals. So, for my opinion, the singer is the real point of force of the band!

For the rest, the music is full of good dynamics but, at the same time, it’s always (ultra)-slow, salvo some moments where Gargoyle gives more vivacity to the entire music through good mid-tempos (“Lady Dead”). Finally, there are some simple and smoky solos here and there, as shown by the opening track “The Lord of the Tentaculars”.

In short, the 4 songs of the re-release of “Reborn in Blasphemy” shows a band with very clear ideas, strong of an ultra-dark doom metal coming directly from your worst nightmares. And the nightmare continues because Gargoyle has recently participated to the Italian doom free compilation “Italy Strikes Back” edited by Doomed and Stone. Now pray for Gargoyle or die in a very fuckin’ horrifying way!

Tracklist:

1 – Lord of the Tentaculars
2 – The Highlander
3 – Lady Dead
4 – The Whisperer in the Darkness (bonus track)

Line-up:

Night Walker - howling and riffing rites;
Murk Void - black strings;
Abysmal Mourner - sinister profanations;
Krommak - mournful visions, evil voices.

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/gargoylehorror/
BandCamp: http://gargoylehorror.bandcamp.com/
Shadow Kingdom Records: http://shadowkingdomrecords.com/