Barbaric Is the Beast

When I look at the collection of the black metal albums I have bought over the years I have listened to metal, one thing stands out to me. A lot of it comes from Europe. Now this does not mean that black metal from America is bad, it is just that a lot of the bands that I enjoy listening to come from Europe. However, Ceremonial Castings is an American black metal band that has helped me focus more on the American metal scene. These guys are truly an amazing band that put forth a lot of effort into their music and ‘Barbaric is the Beast’ has quickly become one of my favorite albums.

One thing that is quite striking about this album is the atmosphere. Two bands that do this well are Agalloch and Summoning. Agalloch creates a very peaceful, yet desolate feeling. Summoning gives an epic; grandeur feeling is on par with reading or watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy. After hearing ‘Barbaric is the Beast’, it is necessary to add Ceremonial Castings to the list as well. To me, it is very appealing when a band is able to draw the listener in by creating atmosphere. Ceremonial Castings is able to create a very desolate and hollow feeling in the listener, as well as an atmosphere that is almost mystical. When I listen to this album I think of barren landscapes. The middle of Our Journey Through Forever is a great example of the atmosphere. The instruments and vocals blend together so well that there are parts on the album that become incredibly eerie and dark. For another example, just go ahead and listen to the opening to Sweet Misery I Forsee. It begins with howling wind and Old Nick’s keyboards, creating a desolate feeling, until it erupts around the 1:30 mark into a song that is truly jaw-dropping. Now do not think that the band simply has atmospheric intros to their songs and then it stops once the song begins. Once the vocals and the guitars kick in, the atmosphere continues, thanks to the efforts of Old Nick. I am not saying that the vocals and the guitars do not add to the atmosphere, but what I am trying to say is that the keyboards are pivotal. They provide melody to the brutality of the music throughout the album. It seems when the keyboards are present the atmosphere becomes sorrowful. During the chorus of The Fall of Man, the keyboards help convey this atmosphere that perfectly accompanies the lyrical theme of the song, which pertains to the end of the human race.

The musicianship of Ceremonial Castings is excellent. All three members of the band perform very well on the album, with each one deserving of praise. I have already covered Old Nick, but there is no reason why I can’t praise him more. The keyboards on the album really are well placed in the album and are a keystone to many of the songs. Lord Serpent, who is Old Nick’s brother, plays the guitar for the band. One word that can easily describe the guitars on ‘Barbaric is the Beast’ is relentless. On Sweet Misery I Forsee, Lord Serpent plays at a speedy pace throughout most of the song, which clocks in at around nine minutes and eleven seconds. Lord Serpent’s riffs and his playing are very powerful and forceful, which helps draw the listener’s attention into the songs and it helps the songs move forward. The riffs in the album are good as well. One of my personal favorites on the album is the ending riff of the song Barbaric is the Beast. Throughout the song Barbaric is the Beast, Lord Serpent plays at a fast pace. With about one minute and thirty-five seconds left in the song, he kicks it into high gear and the riff comes in, with some great vocals being belted out by Lord Serpent while the riff continues. The conclusion to the song Barbaric is the Beast is a great way to end the opener of the album, and it sets the bar extremely high for the rest of the album. Don’t worry though; the songs from the rest of the album are of the same quality as Barbaric is the Beast. Bloodhammer plays the drums for the band, and he complements the other two members quite well. He does a great job on the double bass, which can be seen in the beginning of World Unsanctification.

Now it is time to cover one of the pivotal aspects of any band: the vocals. When I heard this album, I was quite surprised at how varied Lord Serpent’s vocals were. I was expecting the vocals to consist of your typical growls, but there are a ton of screamed vocals on the album. Other vocal styles that can be seen throughout the album include vocals that are chanted, spoken, and whispered. All in all this helps create variation throughout the album, and gives some of the songs included on the album a death metal approach along with the black metal approach. This makes sense, since the band has labeled themselves “American Deathphonic Black Metal”.

Barbaric is the Beast clocks in at around seventy-three minutes, seventy-three minutes of mind blowing metal. There is enough variation throughout the album to ensure that none of the moments in the album become tedious or boring. Some songs are short, with three of the twelve songs reaching a length of less than four minutes. Then there are songs such as Our Journey Through Forever, which is an almost fourteen minute epic.

If I have not made it clear by now, I’ll tell it to you as simply as possible. Buy this album. There are only one thousand physical copies of this album, and any fan of black metal or metal in general should be trying to hunt a copy down. Whether you are already a fan of black metal or trying to get into it, this album is an essential part of any metalhead’s collection.

“Who are these folks and why the hell haven't I heard of them before?” This phrase sums up a new listener's reaction after hearing Ceremonial Casting's Barbaric is the Beast. For a while symphonic black metal has been a stale sub genre, which I personally attribute to the early pioneers setting the bar so incredibly high. Rarely does one come across a symphonic black band that can top the quality of music produced by acts such as Emperor and Limbonic Art, it just doesn't happen. Fortunately, there's finally somebody giving them and other early acts a run for their money.

Before the music, I feel there are two aspects surrounding Ceremonial Castings that should strike the listener as slightly odd (As they did to myself):

1: They don't have a bassist. Anywhere. 2: They're from the USA.

The first oddity being the most interesting; the vast majority of black metal bands have a bassist somewhere, but more often than not they are inaudible. Sure you'll hear a chance few notes during breaks in the intensity, but beyond that you could remove it entirely and an album's sound wouldn't change. I imagine Ceremonial Castings reached the same conclusion early on, and just did away with it entirely. This is by no means a bad thing, and the lack of bass really works throughout every song. Our Journey Through Forever, Sweet Misery I Foresee, and From Men to Dust, all significantly calmer than all other tracks, and all present a superior sound without bass present. Also, while being aware that there isn't any bass present, songs unconsciously sound on a higher pitch overall.

The second oddity is perhaps more of a bias. The USA is notorious for pumping out stale, mediocre acts lately. Rarely does something worthwhile surface, especially in the black metal department. Ceremonial Castings showcases that not all bands from the USA are as lackluster, that there are those who aren't here to fuck around, but instead make the absolute best music they're capable of producing.

Right, so about the music. As you may have read, Ceremonial Castings uses the term "Deathphonic" to classify their music. What they're basically getting at is that they're symphonic black metal using death vocals. These death vocals make significant showings throughout the album, and they're quite low. If the listener happens to own Immortal Black Art, the death vocals here make more of an appearance and go even lower, best displayed right after the chorus on Our Journey Through Forever. On the opposite end of the spectrum, when Lord Serpent isn't spewing out insane gutturals, he's throwing out ear shattering, torturous shrieks, best showcased on When Wolves Desire, The Fall of Man, and Sweet Misery I Foresee. During the last bit of Barbaric Serpent puts on a rather unique, harsh, and commanding voice, and has several other cleaner parts during Our Journey Through Forever.

Nonstop intensity best describes the drums laid by Blood Hammer. How he keeps it up through the album is beyond me The sheer speed maintained throughout the album without sounding repetitive and drawn out demonstrates his exceptional musicianship. I'm convinced this is why the track From Men to Dust appears halfway through the album, and features not a single drumming section.

Old Nick does masterful work on synths and keyboards during the whole of the album, peaking during the intro of When Wolves Desire. My personal favorite is during the entirety of Sweet Misery I Foresee, especially during the first thirty seconds, giving the impression of a cold autumn morning or evening, and after the chorus, with several simple piano notes that inspire a sombre feeling in the listener. The keyboards really add a subtle layer of beauty to each song, while conveying a sense of almost grandeur to some, again using the songs Barbaric is the Beast and When Wolves Desire as the key example.

Finally we've got the guitar. Now, I haven't been exposed to as large a variety of metal as some, however Ceremonial Castings guitar work is distorted and toned in such a way that I've truly never heard anything similar. Imagine distortion at it's peak, but then imagine how it would sound under clear production, and that's a rough idea at what you'll be hearing. Admittedly, it's rough on the ears the first time around, even to the most experienced black metal listeners. Once you can overcome the sound though, it becomes instantly apparent how adept Serpent is with his guitar.

Unlike the two albums surrounding Barbaric is the Beast (Immortal Black Art and Salem 1692), the lyrical themes here stray away from witchcraft and Satan, instead focusing much more on death and hopelessness. Most notable is Our Journey Through Forever, which is a 14 minute epic describing the journey of souls through the after-life. Also worthy of mention, though somewhat chicle, is The Fall of Man, talking about the end of humanity and civilization, culminating into the heaviest and harshest section of the entire album.

After the original songs finish we are treated to a cover of Emperor's all-too-famous I Am The Black Wizards. While they didn't take an awesome song and make it better, they certainly took an awesome song and put a unique spin on it. Ultimately, Serpent isn't Ihsahn, nor should he be, but that's partly where the cover falls short – Ihsahn's vocals made that song what it was. Hey, it still kicks ass in it's own regard though.

After all that praise you're probably wondering why this doesn't get a perfect score. Honestly, I believe it should, but every time I listen to the album it always nags me at how a couple songs just fail to stick. I don't feel this is the fault of the songs themselves, but rather the placement of them in the album. I'm talking about World Unsanctification and Speak in Tongues. When looking at their positioning relative to other songs you'll notice they're simply outdone by the following or previous track. Perhaps you'll think differently, but after well over a dozen spins neither of these two tracks register in my memory. Despite that, this is a damn fine symphonic black album by a damn fine band. Though Barbaric is only limited to 1000 copies, you'll be doing yourself a disservice by not picking this up somehow. Seriously, you'll thank yourself for it.

Ceremonial Castings, by far the best thing ever to come out of Battle Ground, Washington, and ever furthering my argument is there latest release, “Barbaric is the Beast”. This album (Like almost all of there other ones) is a superb combination of sheer brutality and cold and melodious Black Metal. I have never heard a band that could better pull off combining Black and Death metal.

The production of this album is different then all the other ones. It sounds like the guys in C.C. took a great deal of time on the production in this one. The deep growls are deeper, the B.M. vocals are harsher, the clean singing is more melodious, the guitar sounds less like its coming out of a tin can, the keys are louder, and the drums are better mixed. The whole album just sounds better then anything Ceremonial Castings has put out before this.

I have one complaint and that is that Ceremonial Castings SERIOUSLY needs to get a bass player. Even though this album is better sounding than “Immortal Black Art” it still is in desperate need of bass. In some of the songs the upper register is very overwhelming and in need of deepening.

I would recommend this to ANYONE who can get there hands on it. I would imagine Ceremonial Castings is pretty hard to find outside of the Washington/Oregon area. But if you happen to stumble across any CD of there’s; it is well worth the money to buy it.

Favorite tracks: Prophets of the Profane, Sweet Misery I Foresee, Barbaric is the Beast, I am the Black Wizards (Emperor Cover), Our Journey Through Forever.