Consecration – Cinis (Redefining Darkness Records)
Wednesday, 15th June 2022
Specific countries develop distinct qualities when it comes to metal. The bleak, grey atmosphere often appears in the UK as an example – perfect for a fusion of death and doom to coexist. Consecration is another act aiming to add their stake in this fusion that has been a part of that movement since the days of Paradise Lost, Cathedral, My Dying Bride, and Anathema among others. Together for over a decade, Cinis is the quintet’s third album, another monumental slab of heaviness – the nine tracks containing slow, churning riffs, even slower to slightly mid-tempo rhythm section passages, plus deep growls and savage screams pulling everything together.
These musicians pull out many interesting twists at the most unexpected times – changing tempos, elevating energy, creating the right deadly heaviness to hook ratios, promoting a penchant of hair windmill action even at moderate paces. Feel the crunchy sledgehammer guitars during “Ground to Ashes (A Cremulation)”, an evil outing where tremolo picking and semi-gallops add those extra dynamic touches to an already enticing main package of gloom over the course of the arrangement. With a third of the songs reaching over nine-minutes (the longest “Embrace of Perpetual Mourning” at 11:21), listeners need not fear they will get their money’s worth in terms of substantive songwriting checking off all the boxes necessary to be convincing in this genre. The lurking growls and supplementary measured screams emanating from Daniel Bollans occasionally have that surprising whispering third gear – making “These Fleeting Measures” a mid-album treat. Two shorter instrumentals “A Dying Wish” and “In Loving Abandonment” provide aural reprieve – the first one electric, while the latter is serene and tasteful to give the record that final comforting note to rest in peace.
Consecration takes the essence of 90’s/early 2000’s death/doom and maintains integrity at all levels with Cinis. The snappy snare plus darker tones keep the atmosphere bleak, while occasionally serving up some melodic guitar harmonies that slightly uplift the proceedings. This UK band will turn some heads for those that love the legacy of this long-running style.
