2017 Rzeszów,Poland spawned quartet Haunted Cenotaph, who, not only has pseudonyms for themselves, but also chromatic ones for what they supplement.
First LP ‘Abyssal Menace’, an improvement from their self titled 2019 EP, giving much more depth in the song writing, really channeling in on the Death Doom riffs and getting roused by their “distant cousins” (1300 miles apart) Switzerland cult favorite, Celtic Frost, notable in the vocals and occasional “ugh”, very credible on ‘Abyssal Menace’ track.
Artwork for “Abyssal Menace” captured by Maciej Gulak it portrays the immeasurable danger by giving a reddish top and bluish bottom triangular entries into a portal with hands surrounding which way you decide to fall into, deep imagery with music that reflects the visual.
Seven pieces stringed into a 41 minute magnum opus for those who favor blended Death Doom, horror lovers, Lovecraft worshippers to embrace. All songs written by HC, exception being instrumental ‘The Music of Erich Zann’ written by Neithan, who’s also active in Whalesong, Lifeless Gaze, & Black Magic Rites AND also did the mixing and mastering for this album. ‘Rotten Existence’ showcases more robust, lofi riffs, with strained throaty cadence resemblant of Tom G Warrior (tell me I’m wrong!), and elongated composition to keep you reeled in.
Brewhammer’s bass intro for ‘Miasmatic Malodour’ has to be pointed out, establishing a profound atmosphere that steadily intensifies on this track. ‘Seed of Belial’ has bit of distracting chants faded out by guitar work & album title track feels like an ode to Celtic Frost with a much doomy tuneup to it; menacing yet simplistic Death/Doom riffs and consistent escalation mark this LP to be Haunted Cenotaph’s best work yet!
