Label: Svart Records
Review by Warren Mayocchi
“Cast Away Souls” is the product of Leila Abdul-Rauf (trumpet, vocals), Pranjal Tiwari (vocals, drums), and Nathan Verrill (bass, guitar, organ, vocals) – aka Cardinal Wyrm. As you would expect from the album cover and band name, they create a sludgy doomy sound. On this album, the vocals are generally an ongoing march of clean male lines with occasional harsh male and subtle female sections, more of a spoken word style with little care for melody. Musically the mood is oppressive, even the folk-like acoustic track – “Lost Orison” – sounds as though it is played in a dark corner of despair. Throughout the vocal style dominates, it would have been good to hear the band be less chained to the vocals as the introductions to “Grave Passage” and “After the Dry Years” show considerable talent. However, the style of the vocal is one where the band is used primarily to accent the beat of the spoken words. For this reason, I liked “The Resonant Dead” the best on this album as it is a track where the band and vocals do part ways to great effect. A decent album for fans of the genre, with not much in there for anyone else. For me, the vocal performance did not resonate, but I am sure it will be perfect for other listeners. As I play the album, I imagine a large industrial factory, full of heat, sweat, and hard labor. No one says anything as they pound through each day, all that can be heard are the sounds of work and the wail of their discarded souls. Perhaps that it is what is intended here, to evoke the life of those who do “Cast Away Souls”.
Rating – 75/100
Tracklist
- Silver Eminence
- The Resonant Dead
- Grave Passage
- Lost Orison
- Soul Devouring Fog
- After the Dry Years
Line Up
- Leila Abdul-Rauf – Trumpet, Vocals, Live Bass
- Pranjal Tiwari – Lead Vocals, Drums
- Nathan Verrill – Bass, Guitar, Organ, Vocals