Cultic – ‘Lore’ | Rock Queen Reviews

Meet the inventive genre, dark dungeon synth metal, via Cultic, showcasing their recently released album, ‘Lore’; out on Eleventh Key Records.

Featuring a more extreme form of epic fantasy metal, with a doom foundation, in which legends are interwoven; ‘Lore’s themes remain assuringly magical.

The featured singles, ‘Nomad’ and ‘Night Grifter’ are both accompanied by YouTube videos. The latter was premiered by Decibel Magazine.

‘Lore’ can be ordered and streamed, digitally.

Nomad – Curious wobble echo intro and into a deep, dark, Sabbath-esque doom refrain. Cymbals used, intriguingly, with some unusual effects. Very growly vocals, evoking ogre images. Slow-paced, with samey beats, throughout. A very doom-led track, with central extremity.

Perilous Turn – Slight space rock, sci-fi opening. High-pitched synth complements the rest. Lots of experimental effects. A thankfully short instrumental.

Fool – Neat follow-up. Floor-shaking low-end bass and percussion. More Dalek-like growls, spewing menacing lyrics. A bit monotone. Aggressive tones and continuous bass and drum rhythms. Throwing in some wah, just before the end. Finishing too soon.

Twilight – Heavy, cinematic opening. Into a slightly different refrain, mirroring the nature of the title. Another brief instrumental, composed almost entirely of synth effects.

Night Grifter – Big, stomping doom intro. Unarguably heavy. Very muddy, sludgy stuff. Not much diversity in here. Employing the wah about ¾ of the way in, but mostly dominated by monster growls and repetitive rhythms. Early cut-off.

Spellbound – A very early TV sci-fi sound effect opens, onto more synth, with some lighter tones within it. Another short one, with little substance.

Crone – Floor-quaking depths intro, once more. It’s almost all rhythm. Again, that Sabbath influence is clear. Now with some added acoustic tones. Differing vocal styles and insane laughter, in places, but mainly just low-end doom. Crashing closing sounds.

Vast Horizons – More spacey sounds open, onto gong beats and synths. Very samey, with experimental flavours, which don’t really work. Very brief.

Tyrant’s Horde – Heavier intro beat, with central doom, once again. Crushing sounds and textures. Growled vocals return, with some reverb effects. Just a mire of sludge. Barely audible lyrics and of course, more non-descript synths. No real change from the same boring repetition, throughout.

Unyielding Might – A change of tack, now, opening with a military march, with an ominous background sound. That depressive melody remains the same, though.

Warlord’s Quest – A slightly more energised intro, now, but soon revealing the same ogre-ish growls as before. There is a marginally new monk-like background chant, here, but generally, no other real variation. Ending on a wordless echoed shout.

Imperial Procession – Beginning with the same shouts, plus a more cinematic warrior call, via ritual instrumentals. No alternations, till the final drum beats, evoking omen, through premonitory rhythms.

Ancient Kings – Big, booming drum and effects intro! Still through the floor, with those depths. Very sludgy. Monsters and demons and yet more reverb. Stone heavy rhythmic echoes; interminable growls. All the same monotonous features. You may as well play an LP on the wrong speed and bounce a basketball around it, relentlessly. Aural torture you’ll be begging to end.

Mirror Punishment – Chaotic, cacophonous intro, featuring sensory overload inducing nails scratching down a blackboard sounds, so intense, it’s actually distressing to hear. Some war-cry drum and gong beats, in the background. It’s just a blessed relief that it’s so short.

Executioner’s Tale – Mechanical sounds open, with even more of the same dull, monotonous drumming, bass lines and demonic vocals. The best feature’s the wah, from the bridge. A final beastly growl echoes out, at the end, which can’t come soon enough.

Breaking Wheel – The gong returns, at the outset, accompanied by disturbing screams and creaking doors. Dustbin lid sounds crash and echo, at the end.

Warden – Booming repetition, yet again. Utilising the wobble effect a lot. Synths almost screaming. Unbearably dull and repetitive. Shared evil cackles. Stomping sounds and little else, throughout.

Dungeon Wench – Loud footsteps, fencing sounds and cackling laughter open. Replaced by the ogre’s return and the same boring beats and bass. It’s basically just a monster, throwing a temper tantrum and stamping his feet, all the way through. Fading out on vague, feminine, wordless chants. You’ll be glad it fades out slightly early.

Overall – Painful to listen to, with the wah inclusions its only redeeming feature; the agonising drone that is ‘Lore’ is not at all what it claims to be and is frankly, best avoided. Especially the track, ‘Mirror Punishment’. Not just mercilessly repetitive and monotonous drone, but actually torturous, in places, too. Barely any demonstration of real musicianship and an over-reliance on effects and noise, to the exclusion of anything else; ‘Lore’ ranks amongst the worst albums I’ve heard, this year. Not recommended. Do yourself a favour and swerve this one.

1/10 *

For fans of Warrior Pope, Bellhead, World Below, Shape Of Water, Iron Monkey.