Album Review: Cultic - Lore
Reviewed by Sam Jones
I’ve followed Cultic for years and, personally, I think they’re so under most people’s radars it’s absurd. Formed in 2016 out of Pennsylvania, United States, the band play death/doom metal with a dark fantasy spin and it’s why when they churn out records like their 2019 High Command or their exemplary 2022 Of Fire And Sorcery opus, they hit harder and with accuracy so clean no other band comes close. Releasing an EP, Seducer, in 2023, Cultic prepared us for their oncoming third album simply named Lore. But Cultic are more than a band; Brian and Rebecca Magar are in truth husband and wife, forming the band’s crux structure, bringing on Andrew Harris fulfilling the role of bassist. Cultic is therefore a family effort which sets them apart straight away from their contemporaries. Retaining their partnership with Eleventh Key, Lore is due for release this October 3rd. Knowing how dearly I enjoyed Of Fire And Sorcery I was ecstatic to begin Lore as soon as possible.
Not since hearing Conan’s guitar tone on their earliest releases have I heard a guitar tone so deliberately low. Though Cultic may play death/doom their sound here isn’t trying to evoke crushing sensations or reduce one to pieces, rather Cultic seem to be bringing us back to that medieval, dark fantasy realm their identity is so reared towards. We’ve seen sword and sorcery tropes applied to many new wave of traditional metal records but Lore is what happens when similar themes are applied to death/doom, bringing to mind imagery of old school fantasy and pulp magazines wherein bloodshed and dismemberment weren’t far behind. I think some may be put off initially by how low Cultic have rendered their tone here but once the first few tracks are behind you, and the atmospheric immersion plays its part, audiences should feel right at home.
Speaking of atmosphere we can’t not mention the track structure. Lore features nine full tracks, interspersed mostly after each one with a small, instrumental or ambient piece, thus accumulating Lore’s total to eighteen tracks. The purpose behind this appears to give each interim section between full tracks ulterior expression which conventional guitar, bass or drums can’t typically convey. These minute segments don’t play for long as the band apply their greatest efforts to the main tracks but nowhere else will you hear keyboards, varying audio bites etc that bridge one track to the next. As a result, just because a track ends doesn’t mean the band are done with you, keeping you invested in Lore. Their immersive quality is very subtle, it doesn’t slam you in the face but slowly creeps and encompasses you. I swear it also makes that ultra-low guitar tone more acceptable too since it blends well with the ambient pieces thus reinforcing the oncoming tracks.
Lore doesn’t rush. Even amongst death/doom metal Cultic write and play music that sits you perfectly within the moment; it doesn’t try and have you anticipating what’s yet to come, everything rests on what’s occurring in the here and now. It’s why their tempo feels so steady too; should Cultic pick up the pace the strength of instrumentation otherwise delivered would be halved because the band would no longer be giving it time to breathe. It’s clear the band have discovered a nice space to occupy as this steady but rolling momentum brings power and atmosphere in droves. Those smaller ambient pieces are all the more important therefore, breaking up the perceptions of a monotonously-toned record into something more accessible and engaging. Their pacing makes no effort to move outside of its established zone, its borders nicely refined, standing tall, this would be a detriment for most bands but Cultic’s tempo, their songwriting, go hand in hand crafting death/doom more than comfortable within the space they’ve constructed for their dark fantasy setting.
Returning to those Conan comparisons, the vocals represent a strong opposite. Where Conan’s vocals are boisterous and seem to be coming from afar, Cultic’s delivery is a little closer but just as menacing. One can imagine themselves caught in a gaoler’s clutches, perhaps upon the rack, as they’re tortured for information or someone’s whereabouts. Cultic’s dark fantasy isn’t pulling punches: it wallows in the malevolence and apathetic elements of the sword and sorcery subgenre. Here the delivery is deeper, darker, and since the lyrical cadence feels so accentuated it gives you that opened window into following words with ease. It does all this in the bid to pull you ever deeper in.
In conclusion, Lore is a dark and unrelenting work of heavy death/doom sitting nicely in the zone the record itself has established. Should anyone wish it to pick up some speed or throw in any wilder frenzies of songwriting, they’ll be disappointed as this record isn’t going to divulge anything outside the framework it erects right at the beginning. If you like what you hear to begin with then the rest of the album is yours to enjoy; records structured like Lore can be hit or miss given the continuous breaks between tracks but Cultic, imbuing each smaller piece with ambient and immersive qualities, keep us engaged and on the march so their record doesn’t run the risk of growing stale. Eighteen tracks may seem overly bloated but they succeed each other rapidly wherein you’ll never feel like Lore is afraid of moving on. As their third album, Cultic prove their dark fantasy adoration is far from losing steam.
