I suppose it goes without saying but I am an avid music
lover. I’m sure I am not alone in stating that one of the greatest moments for
an Metal obsessed music connoisseur is to feast upon the first ever demo from a
new band. Well that is what I have here and let me tell you it fills my heart
and soul with joy to tell you it is an absolute stunner! Hailing from Sweden
comes a Doom/Death Metal trio that really gets my blood pumping! Wardenclyffe are a band to be
excited about, very excited and their debut three track demo entitled ‘Ordo
Ab Chao’ has the ability to bewitch and ensnare your mind within the
first few moments of opening track ‘Orcadian Dream’!
Ah yes ‘Orcadian Dream’! If awards were
given for the best opening moments of a release this one would be a real
contender. A rumble of static and feedback greets you before eerie cold guitar
tones rise slowly from the roaring fire of reberb. It is pure unadulterated
Doom atmosphere at its finest and once complete leads into a slow, methodical
and enthralling Death/Doom sound. With crushing intent Wardenclyffe set about
their business in this opening track which tells a tale of Gomorrah, one of the
cities in the Old Testament who had fire and brimstone reigned down upon it as
punishment for man’s sin! Vocally Jacob Nordangard shares a striking
resemblance with Nevermore singer Warrel Dane (In vocal style I mean) but it’s
his lyrics that are so captivating…
“In the dreams of tomorrow lies the grief of Gomorrah, walk the path of
destruction, the fall. Too few that heeds the warning, the fate for all is
dawning, feel the nails got hammered through our hands”
Equally ‘Behind the Shadow of the Goat’ is
fast to work its magic upon you with its quicker pace, darker connotations and
its heavily occult moods! Again Wardenclyffe’s lyrical prowess is on
show for all to hear and within moments you shall once more be singing along!
“Watch the flames consume the notion, walk the stairs to deep delusion,
I now seek the true devotion, break the spell of the grand illusion”
As a grand finale you can’t go far wrong with the sluggish
and monolithic ‘Macroshift’ which once more sees the band dragging the depths
to bring forth monstrous and savage riffs, dark fearsome atmospheres and
overall a tremendous sense of oppression in the form of cavernous tones! Wardenclyffe’s
sound to date is of a demo band, this is not some polished and overly mastered
piece of music that is to be mass produced and shrink wrapped for the masses,
oh no, this is a dirty piece of Swedish Doom and the demo sound works wonders
for the aura that it produces. I am certain that the time will come for Wardenclyffe
to make the polished album that they deserve to make, but for now revel with me
in the squalor if this filthy demo and its harrowing sound!
Luke Hayhurst [8.5/10]
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