Album Review: Cadaver Shrine - Benighted Desecration
Reviewed by Sam Jones
Cadaver Shrine. A name I’ve never heard of, yet with no surprises, seeing as the band only formed last year. For once, we’ve got a band who have been around only about a year (if not less time than that) and here they’ve brought us their debut full length release already in the form of Benighted Desecration. Diving straight into recording their first full length record, these Dutch Death/Doom extravagants released their first Demo last October, so we are really blessed to already have their first album on our doorstep so soon. I never say no to some Death/Doom so I was more than ready to crank Benighted Desecration on.
First things first: you don’t need this at max volume. Right out of the gate, Benighted Desecration is a record that absorbs you into the swirling miasma that is its atmosphere. It’s not the kind of performance that will see you thrown back into your chair, but it is the sheer weight which their riffs possess without the band needing to impart anything overtly chunky or ripping into them. The band sport a dual-guitar attack that works to their advantage yet, it isn’t utilised as other bands have done so. Here and there, Cadaver Shrine employ one guitar to be the driving momentum throughout the songwriting whereas you’ll have another be the more upfront element, driving forward the band’s immersive aspects. It’s this latter element that is going to suck you right in from the first moment, and additionally why you don’t need to stick this record on too high a volume owing to the incredible sonic density Cadaver Shrine have provided this record with.
This is one evil sounding album, not merely because of the vocal delivery hence employed nor the thickness of the riffs and overall guitar tone. Instead, this record manages to ooze a scope of malevolence I haven’t encountered in a while by maintaining a rather medium-paced performance. The band’s moniker may be death/doom but Cadaver Shrine definitely bring copious amounts of death metal into their sound for certain; such a powerful sound slowed down for their purposes has resulted in a performance that you can’t escape nor lose. It’s like running alongside a predator or unknown threat; you know it’s there and think you may soon lose it, but throughout Benighted Desecration you are always able to follow what’s going on and where you’re being taken to. It’s dense and compact guitar tone renders their sound with such malice and evil clarity that getting through the first track alone feels like a moral achievement.
There aren’t many typically atmospheric elements going on in the background whilst we’re listening; that much is noted which other death/doom bands may be looking to capitalise on. I actually enjoyed the total absence of atmospheric audio clips or samples because, with this record, it wasn’t necessary. Considering how thick and pervasive the riffs are on record, audio samples were never needed to bolster the band’s performance since their rudimentary performance is enough to fill all corners this record boasts. The application of extra atmospherics would have been overkill I feel and may have hindered the band’s otherwise cavernous and commanding presence. The band manage to immerse us through the devastating power and might their sound alone conjures.
With an album that’s as massively pounding as this is, the drums can run the risk of becoming lost within the mix. I can say outright that it’s incredible that we not only get a very strong record but, the drums also feel great and manage to come through the gauntlet that is this record’s mix without having to conflict with everything else going on around it. The band could have easily cranked the guitar and bass work to 11 and called it a day, but they’ve made the evidently conscious decision to give the drums their due too because you can actually acknowledge how their impact and strikes give the band some needed acoustics in a record, that’s otherwise, so heavy on the bass and lower end of things. They not have a dominant spotlight throughout the record but as the audience is pummelled by riffs, the drums are just as keen and essential a part of the performance as any riff is here.
In conclusion, Cadaver Shrine’s form of death/doom is the variant that I love to hear most of all. No unnecessary effects or samples or anything distracting us from the band’s core capabilities, Cadaver Shrine truly are a band to watch for in the future. This is meaty, evil death/doom that I really got behind; there’s very little else going on atmospherically to turn our heads away to either. The vocals are bellowing, guttural and wondrously fuse with the overall sound put forth by the band; a straightforward yet honest death metal attack that’s slow enough for us to run alongside it yet fast enough to continuously warrant a sense of direction and speed out of its performance. We’re barely weeks into 2023 and already have a deeply cavernous and echoic record to boot. With zero mercy to be had, a guitar tone to level Tartarus and an ambience depraved enough to raise the dead, Cadaver Shrine’s debut album, Benighted Desecration, is an excellent listen from start to finish.
