Castle - Under Siege

Doom/Heavy Metal
Van Records
2014










1. Distant Attack
2. Be My Ghost
3. A Killing Pace
4. Pyramid Lake
5. Powersigns
6. Labyrinth Of Death
7. Temple Of The Lost
8. Evil Ways

Castle are a band that I've very much been liking since I first heard their debut and I'd have to count their third album as one of my more anticipated albums of the year. I just really dig their occult themes, dark feel, and the way they keep their songs moving with more of a heavy/traditional pace while still keeping that doom feel in place. I have to say that I was also impressed seeing this band live on their first tour and being able to deliver live always helps my opinion of a band along.

Even before listening to this album I had one gripe immediately though so I'm just going to throw it right out there. The album clocks in at a total of just under 34 minutes. It's true that Blacklands was also just over 35 minutes, but there it is. I felt like, in retrospect, I let the last album slide a bit on that and two albums of that length is a little on the weak side. I may also be noticing it because the Sabaton album I just wrote a review for had the same damn problem. If you're going to make something virtually EP length, it should be at those kind of prices and not advertised as a full length album. At least not these days where total album length is generally considerably longer. Ok I said it. Now we can move forward.

Listening to this one, Under Siege is not the sort of album that offers much in the way of surprises. As is often the case, this kind of evens out as being both the strength and the weakness of the release. The sound is very enjoyable for sure with it's earthy, haunting vocals and somewhat raw, dark sound but the songs here are also pretty familiar to anyone who has heard the other two albums. The sound hasn't worn too thin yet and this makes for the kind of album that's pretty good for fans of the band and a little bit more driving doom, but it also doesn't break enough new ground or get adventurous enough in the songwriting to really qualify as a real highlight of the year sort of an album. Basically, this one offers up material that's familiar enough to easily be accepted by fans, but not new enough to elicit a great deal of excitement. The driving pace is there and the haunting atmosphere is too, but there's not a lot of excitement in this. The best songs of the album tend to be more based on memorable vocal passages like on Be My Ghost or a rhythm that sticks in your head like the roll of Temple Of The Lost than anything remarkably new.

Overall, if you like that kind of energized doom with an occult feel than this is still above par stuff. I just wouldn't expect a lot of surprises or progression of the band's sound if you've heard them before. If you haven't, this is certainly a good female fronted doom/heavy band and worth checking out. Their sound is still recognizable and strong and that goes a long way to carrying this album to a good rating. It's an enjoyable listen and that's good enough for a third album. I can just feel the moment approaching when the band is going to have to get a little more adventurous/creative with the songs to stay relevant. And please Castle... Maybe a little bit longer albums/more songs?

Highlights: Be My Ghost, Temple Of The Lost, Evil Ways

Rating - 3.5/5

Castle - Blacklands

Heavy/Doom Metal
Van Records

2012

1. Ever Hunter
2. Corpse Candles
3. Storm Below The Mountain
4. Blacklands
5. Curse Of The Priests
6. Venus Pentagram
7. Alcatraz
8. Dying Breed

Blacklands marks the second album from California based doom/heavy metalers Castle and it is an album I've been looking forward to. Just last year I first heard this band and they are a fairly young one as that was their debut release. What the debut brought was a nice retro, stripped down, and dirty sound that mixed traditional heavy metal and doom into an occult themed rocker. Always nice to have some new blood in the scene and their debut, In Witch Order, left me wanting more. You don't hear a lot of no frills, dark metal like this these days.

Listening to Blacklands I can't help but think this sounds kind of like the soundtrack to some 70s/80s occult/satanist themed horror movie. Vocalist Elizabeth Blackwell is fully capable of rocking out, but also has a haunting sort of vibe to her at times and the music just conjures a great dark vibe. Think a little bit of Hellion, mixed with a little King Diamond for flavor (minus the falsettos), and a little Cathedral meets Black Sabbath. This is a bit too upbeat and traditional to call strictly doom, but the influence is obvious and the music just goes for raw, dark, and heavy. Overall, I'm very satisfied with this release, but if I had to nitpick there would be a couple things. At times things can get a little familiar as the tracks don't have a Huge amount of variation, but I do think there is enough. I can just feel the need for this band to expand and maybe even polish their sound a bit more in the future. Nitpick number two belongs to guitarist/vocalist Mat Davis, who might be better off sticking to the guitarist tag. His gruff vocals aren't bad, but honestly they don't seem necessary as Elizabeth just has a much better sound. They're not bad and open pop up occasionally, but they don't really add much to the band's sound. These are just as I said though, nitpicks. Castle does a lot more things right than wrong and their sound is pretty killer.

Basically, this band continues to follow the sound they started on the debut, In Witch Order, and it still sounds good. If you heard their last and liked it then this is certainly worthy. If you have not and like traditional with flavors of doom and darkness then you should check this out. This fills a nice spot in my collection that needed new blood. I really think this band is onto something great and I look forward to hearing more material in the future.

Highlights: Corpse Candles, Blacklands, Ever Hunter

Rating - 3.5/5

Castle - In Witch Order

Doom/Heavy Metal
Van Records

2011

1. Descent Of Man
2. Fire In The Sky
3. Slaves Of The Pharao
4. Knife In The Temple
5. Total Betrayal
6. Spellbinder
7. Lost Queen
8. Shaman Wars
9. Sleeping Giant
10. Butcher Of Los Angeles
11. Devils Castle

Castle are a band I quite randomly decided to check out. I was just pouring over a list of bands and doom metal with a female vocalist sounded interesting enough. My search for new blood continues.

After listening to this, while seeing them classified as Doom, I'd call them more Doom/Heavy. There's definitely some more traditional metal in this and often things are fairly upbeat and aggressive. Musically, I get shades of bands like Manilla Road and perhaps some Hellion. There is a doomy vibe at times, especially on tracks like Sleeping Giant or Lost Queen, but really I'd just call this metal. The sound does have a certain dirty/fuzzy production which reminds me of some Doom, but also early American heavy metal. It wouldn't be hard to imagine this band doing shows in the mid to late 80s with bands like the above mentioned artists, Omen, etc.

Vocally, do not expect an extremely feminine or atmospheric approach as they come across a bit raspy at times and heavier than all that. Think more in terms of vocalists like Doro, Anne Boleyn of Hellion, or Leather Leone of Chastain. None of these are an exact sound match, but in the ballpark. The vocalist of Castle is not so much a screamer, but her rasp reminds me of them a bit. There are some moments where she can be slightly more mood establishing, but overall I find the singing direct and heavy. I don't hear a lot of range, but the vocals compliment the music just fine. There are some gruffer backing vocals as well that come in from time to time.

Overall, I'd say this a nice bit of straight forward, rocking heavy metal with some doom tones and kind of a retro sound. Pretty enjoyable stuff that got my head moving more than once as I listened. I'd recommend this to fans of traditional & doom metal fusions.

Highlights: Spellbinder, Slaves Of The Pharo, Devils Castle

Rating - 3.5/5