Originality in Metal is a trait that is necessary in the modern world to be able to make it. Set to release their brand new album, the incredibly catchy, Dance and Laugh Amongst The Rotten, Carach Angren are gearing up for a new chapter in their morbid story. For those unfamiliar with the band, the trio have created their own niche with the telling of ghost stories in a format of Symphonic Black Metal and their latest, dude June 16th is set to be their most ferocious yet with brand new song “Charlie”.
Never one to repeat themselves although the formula might be similar the stories are never the same. Slowly working their way through their haunting novella’s first we saw the band taking influence from their local town in Lammendamm a classic ghost story style of the haunting of a woman betrayed by love. Next the band went onto a more nautical standpoint, exploring the legend of the Flying Dutchman in Death Came From A Phantom Ship. Following on from that the band released, perhaps their most conceptually intelligent release to date, Where The Corpses Sink Forever. Based on the horrors of war, each song on the record was a different tale of suicide bred from the atrocity of war. In 2015 however the band unveiled their coup de grace that was the malicious retelling of the classic Hansel and Gretel story This Is No Fairytale. Garnering attention from all over the world, the band had well and truly outdone themselves.
Having eschewed the growing pains of a band that was finding their sound, This Is No Fairytale was Carach Angren understanding exactly what their potential is and just how devastating it can be. Following incredible support slots from extensive touring schedules the chapter was finally closed. Now we come to a new story in these Dutch maudlin troubadours with Dance And Laugh Amongst The Rotten. Previously the band unveiled their first track “Song For The Dead“. Acting more as a foreword for the unveiling of the album, its a bloodcurdling waltz tempo eerily gets stuck in your head and provides the perfect accompaniment for their announcement of a new album.
Slowly giving more clues to the theme of their latest oeuvre, now releasing their second single “Charlie” they really have upped the ante. Malevolent paroles encircle the listener in the songs introduction whilst the symphonic elements have grown to become a centrepiece in their own right. With this song chronicling the summoning of “Charlie” I would wager that this isn’t going to be the nicest of spirits. Having nailed the theatrical narrative the song creates that patented sense of dread that Carach Angren have mustered but also works well as an individual song itself. Often losing themselves at times in the more symphonic elements of the band, rhythmically the band can be let down. Instead here we see the sheer power of the bands riffs shine through complimenting the theatrics brilliantly.
To say that Carach Angren are unique would be an understatement. You might be forgiven for thinking that the bands aesthetic is a little gimmicky yet this is precisely what makes Carach Angren such a force to be reckoned with and will no doubt elevate them higher than most Black Metal bands. Combine this with giving the band the kind of live show that they would want to put on and you would have an award winning combo that would see music truly be theatrical! If you don’t believe me, ask “Charlie”.
Carach Angren’s brand new album Dance and Laugh Amongst The Rotten is out June 16th via Season of Mist.
