Salem 1692

The first time I heard of Ceremonial Castings (CC) was when I saw them open for Nile. Being a huge fan of Black Metal, I was hooked by what I saw. Breakneck tempos, eerie stage performance, atmospheric keyboard tracks. I knew I had found something brilliant. Fast forward about three months ahead. After searching high and low to find some CC albums on CD, I finally came upon them at a record store in Eugene, Oregon. I left that store with Salem 1692 in hand.

I immediately fell in love with the album, and it remains today as my favorite CC release (with Barbaric is the Beast being a close 2nd). The guitars sound raw as hell, but are still capable of creating anything from a Death Metal-like riff to an enchanting melody. The keyboards add brilliant layers and atmosphere to the all out Black Metal assault. The vocals provide a wide variety of styles, from mid-high raspy growls and screams, low gutturals, spoken word and chants, or clean male and female (on "The Devil In Salem", "Obsidian Spells of Hysteria", "The Crucible and The Cross", and "Stones Upon the Warlock") vocals. The drum and bass are nothing special among the genre, but they still do very well to hold together the framework of the album.

Every song on the album is unique in its own way, whether it be in the unique, varying riffs, easily identifiable melodies, powerful vocals, or the mystifying lyrics which never cease to amaze. As a concept album that focuses upon the Salem Witch Trials, Salem 1692 goes in depth to describe various events, including the discovery of the witches, to the hangings, to the pressing of Giles Corey, and successfully recalls one of the darkest times in American history.

I literally could not find a single flaw in this album. Despite it being over 70 minutes in length, it is such a captivating record that it feels like it is too short rather than too long. If you are a fan of Obtained Enslavement, Dissection, Emperor, or just Black Metal in general, I cannot recommend this masterpiece any more.

Favorite Tracks: "Beneath the Sabbath Moon", "Obsidian Spells of Hysteria", "Onward to Gallows Hill", "When Winter Spectres Return"*
*In my opinion, THE BEST FUCKING SONG ON THE ENTIRE ALBUM!!!

Ceremonial Castings has definitely done well for itself with albums like "Immortal Black Art" and "Barbaric is the Beast", but they outdid themselves with "Salem 1692". The musicianship on this album flows great throughout each song, especially the brutality presented. They have found a great melody-based keyboard sound and integrated it into the music. Finally, Ceremonial Castings has honed a sound that doesn't rip off Emperor too much.

Ceremonial Castings makes great use of female vocals in a few songs while maintaining their black metal roots. A hard balance to achieve for some, but they managed to get it right in this album. One pleasant surprise was the acoustic song "Stones Upon The Warlock"; a decent break in the album. The Salem Witch theme, however, was pretty damn corny though (hence, the reason for a 4% reduction in ratings. Seems fair enough).

Great use of growls that are very powerful and well placed. I can't say much has changed in Lord Serpent's vocals (still intense), nor the guitar riffs, but the rest of the band's members have found a better place for themselves in the music than in previous albums. Although I enjoy other music by Ceremonial Castings, this album was dead on. Add another great album to the Northwest's repertoire for metal.

Ceremonial Castings are bad musicians who wear stupid costumes.

That statement is the essence that I want readers to get out of this review, however I will put myself through the agonizing task of describing this album in hopes that I will save at least one person from listening to it. Unfortunately there was no one to save me.

Salem 1692 is based on the Salem witch trials (apparently two of the members claim to be descendants of one of the witch killers. Right, and Quorthon’s my grandfather). Beneath the Sabbath Moon kicks the journey off with a gothic intro reminiscent of something off an old Cradle of Filth album. After about a minute and a half the intro cuts out and a blast of bombastic metal explodes into a fast paced section. The guitar riff is anything but interesting and the tone/production does its best to drown out every other instrument. Just when it seems as though the song couldn’t turn into a bigger mess, the vocals come in to complete the disaster. It’s as if the vocal arrangements were written without the song in mind, as they have nothing to do with the rest of the music. There’s also a clean vocals section in the song which I would probably bash if I could hear it through the terrible wall of guitar. I think I can make out blast beats, but they’re very low in the mix. Where Witches Waltz is a faster track with the same unbearable guitar production and some miscellaneous keyboard meanderings over the unorganized heap of music. The vocals are more varied in this one and are definitely my favourite part about the song. Too bad it’s impossible to focus on only the vocals without being bludgeoned by a repeated breakdown that makes me want to carve my ears off.

From here on, there isn’t too much variation. Throughout the album there seems to be some catchy symphonic sections (Obsidian Spells of Hysteria) but they’re always lost in a storm of mediocre riffs and solos. It’s a shame that this is the case because symphonic black metal is pretty flawed in the field of atmosphere when the symphonic part is rendered inaudible. If Ceremonial Castings were to tone down the chaotic sound and focus more on structure and atmosphere, I could actually see potential in the music. The riffs just aren’t there to make the songs interesting. The vocals don’t vary a great deal, but I don’t have a problem with them, other than the fairly weak production. The drums are standard but I get the impression that the drummer is uncomfortable with the music he’s playing because he doesn’t really do anything to heighten the overall sound.

This album gets points for Kris Verwimp’s fantastic artwork and for having an original concept. Sure, there’s nothing original about their music or retarded outfits, and the Salem witch trials might not seem original for an occult black metal band, but at least it’s not a concept album about some Viking raid that took place in Scandinavia hundreds of years ago. Are they actually descendants of witch killers? Of course not, but it’s still a cool idea.

Apparently I’m in the great minority with my opinions on this album, but I really don’t see the appeal. If Ceremonial Castings got a new guitarist, drummer, and producer, then I might check out future releases. Sorry guys, but just because you listen to In The Nightside Eclipse, doesn’t mean you can sound like it.

Ceremonial castings are not a well known band in the black metal scene maybe because the use of keyboards (which is no way cheesy or close to annoying) which many consider an abomination in black metal, now after listening to this concept symphonic black metal masterpiece namely “Salem 1692” about the witch trails that took place at that time, I can safely say they have mastered the art of creating amazing black metal with creepiest atmosphere and in my opinion they are masters of symphonic black metal. Looking back at their catalog this is their most amazing release even though albums like Immortal Black Art and Barbaric Is the Beast are not weak albums in any way.

Onto this album, the playing style in this album is punishing black metal with amazing atmosphere. The best thing about the band and album is they don't compromise on writing variety of riffs which is pretty rare in symphonic black metal albums, the riffs and leads on this album is in no way close to being monotonous or boring. Guitars play very important role in the album's sound which is what I love about this album. The usage of keys and synth makes this album outstanding, they are not just played in the background as many would expect, instead they help create an unique and creepy atmosphere almost take back to the time on which this album revolves around and some of the keyboard leads are just amazing, I have never loved keyboard solos because of feeling I get that I am listening to a video game soundtrack this album completely changes that. Drums are fast and crushing which complement the overall sound on this album. Vocals are my favorites in this genre, the variety in Lord serpent's vocal style is amazing be it shrieks, low pitch growls or his clean vocal style which can be heard in the opening track “Beneath the Sabbath Moon”, and the guest female vocalists change the whole atmosphere of the song in an amazing way of course for example in “The Devil in Salem”

Overall this album is awesome mixture of brutality with beauty, I have never come across such an album which blend both the extremities so perfectly, I have heard some bands which tried to combine both the sounds and failing really miserably, not Ceremonial castings. Even though this album reaches past 70 minutes mark, it never gets tiring or boring, sometimes I feel that was the fastest 70 minutes I have experienced. Because it starts and ends with amazing music and never gets boring, great collection of guitar riffs and keyboard/synths are used very intelligently.

I recommend this album to any symphonic black metal fan or a black metal fan in general though I think the presence of keyboards/synth shouldn't be a reason to not giving a try this album, I guess this band will become one of their favorites like what happened in my case after lots of listens I gave to this album. Give them a chance and you wont regret it

Edit: After discovering this subgenre furthermore, i've come to conclusion this is not the best in the subgenre, but still top notch at what it delivers
Standout Tracks : The Crucible and The Cross (My favorite easily), Onwards To Gallows Hill (has an awesome flute/acoustic guitar interlude), Beneath the sabbath moon, Devil in Salem.

As you enter the woods you are treated to a choir of night sounds and nocturnal predators. This is quickly replaced by starry-sky keys and a crescendo of unearthly noises as you spy the ill-fated Tituba with Abigail Williams and her foolish clique demonstrating and practicing rituals of old. What you see during this "demonstration" will forever be left up to scholars and clerics, but you can't help but panic when the keys get more urgent by as you run back to town to inform its populous of the heresy you've witnessed. And as you reach the threshold of the forest you can just make out a voice (weather it's demonic or human is up to you) cry "AWAAAKEN!" forever solidifying in your mind what was being done in that shroud of wood. The place is Salem, Massachusetts, the year is 1692, and the events of that year will forever echo as one of the best examples of the dangers of fool-hearty youth and religious paranoia and credulity. The band is Ceremonial Castings, the album is "Salem 1692", and the moody beginnings I just described are from the nine minute long opener "Beneath the Sabbath Moon". The first two minutes of an hour long album to be more precise. Yeah, we're in for a trip with this one.

Ceremonial Castings is, by all means, a band that should be admired, emulated, even worshiped for their take on the otherwise stigmatized genre of symphonic black metal. I can't stress enough that this album is black metal with a symphonic tinge. When I think of black metal I can't help but reminisce about its earliest members, and this will undoubtedly lead me to such classic songs such as "Freezing Moon", "Transylvanian Hunger", "Deathcrush" and what have you. When I think of these songs the very first thing about them that comes to mind is their infamous riffs, and this is what makes Ceremonial Castings stand out from other symphonic black metal bands (and many modern black metal bands as well) , it's the riffs. CC do not skip on the strings one bit, but instead have a literally perfect balance of the two qualities of their genre, resulting in absolute majesty. They pride themselves on showcasing various death metal traits as well, affectionately calling themselves "Deathphonic Metal", and this is probably why the guitars play such a prominent role, but regardless of the reason the results cannot be denied. The music here is at times violent, at other times incredibly atmospheric, and sometimes (much the dismay of my senses) both. Just listen to "The Devil in Salem", with it's instantly memorable opening riff, rolling double bass, and a key line that sounds like a laughing specter it's hard not to be impressed at CC's knack for writing cohesive, balanced songs.

As I stated earlier this is a long journey, and while it's technically a concept album the lyrics don't seem to outline any specific characters or have any sort of timeline. Regardless, you can't just sum something like the Salem Witch Trials up in a few sentences or songs. The band seems well aware of this, the result being an average song length of over five minute, some of them coming dangerously close to ten. Amazingly, these warlocks have no problem adapting to this idea and the songs on this album are fantastically structured, deep, and surprisingly layered. Old Nick's keys, despite being a primary instrument, are put very well to use during the slower parts of longer songs. His contributions are admirable, his keys sometimes take lead, backing, and even feature a couple of their own songs. In my opinion he's musically the backbone of the band, but let's not count out Lord Serpent and his guitar quite yet. The keys are definitely not the throwback instrument to create atmosphere on this album, as Lord Serpent's strings step up to the challenge in the opening of personal favorite "Damned Be Those of the Craft", setting a nice, eerie pace one second only to turn into a psychotic wail the next. And just listen to that lead around 3:12 on "The Crucible & The Cross"! Simple, melodic, perfect. This song also features a nice surprise that's used just a few times on this album; female vocals. Purists be damned, the seductive chanting coupled with mid-paced drumming and ethereal synth on the aforementioned song is worth the price of admission alone! This special guest's voice is also the focal point of the genuinely touching, but ridiculously named "Stones Upon the Warlock", a song that managed to cause a bit of pressure behind my eyes.

I love all of the Ceremonial Castings albums I own, but one minor complaint I've always held against them is the weak drum sound, which is a shame because when the cataclysmic riffing subsides Bloodhammer sounds like a very good drummer. This problem is corrected slightly with "Salem 1692", the bass drum rumbles nicely, the cymbals are much louder, and at times Bloodhammer reaches an almost ritualistic fervor as if he's beating primordial skins to entice spirits to appear. Lord Serpent's cackle is also particularly hellish on this offering, his death metal vocals have improved and he even wades quickly in the pool of clean vocals. Basically, what I'm trying to convey with those last few sentences is that Ceremonial Castings has done everything right with this album. Extra kudos go to the producer, who somehow managed to take the crazy amount of content in each song, isolate the individual parts, and have it all make almost perfect sense. I don't think I'd be far off in stating that some otherworldly help was enlisted.

This album scares me, not just because of the images it puts in my head or places it takes me, but because I'm not sure if the band can top this. Yeah, it's that good! This solidifies them, in my mind, as the best black metal band America has to offer. They have created a perfect blend of beauty and brutality, experimented lightly and successfully, and have reached a maturity in sound that most bands can only dream of. The forest of witchery may have been black as night, the black arts may be immortal, and the beast was inexcusably barbaric, but the spirits of those falsely accused at Salem will never rest, their anguish only exemplified through the work of Ceremonial Castings. Hail the dark arts, remember those who died, and bow to Ceremonial Castings, who have without a doubt created a modern classic.

The fifth album of Ceremonial Castings, who I believe are easily one of the better symphonic black metal bands out there right now, is, if it wasn't apparent from the album title, a conceptual one based off the infamous Salem Witch Trials in Salem, Massachusetts.

The year is 1692, and hysteria, chaos, Satan, and townsfolk all run wild in Ceremonial Castings' new album, Salem 1692. Listeners, both new and old, take note: this is an example of a concept album done right. Both the subject matter and atmosphere match perfectly, and the music is nothing short of excellent. The fact that the Superchi brothers are directly descended from Judge Hathorne (personally, I can't see what they'd gain from lying, so I'll believe it) add an extra, subtle layer of goodness to the album, that they'd do their damndest to produce the best possible album when the subject matter is something so meaningful and personal.

Salem 1692 opens up with Beneath the Sabbath Moon. We're thrust right in the middle of the girls' ceremony in the middle of the night, complete with crickets, wind, and the presence of evil. Old Nick weaves a brilliant image through his keyboards during the first minute, creating the scenery described above. Suddenly, as if in completion of the ceremony, the Serpent's guitar starts flurrying, and the song kicks in full force. Indeed, after the initial “Awaken!” we know Ceremonial Castings aren't here to fuck around.

The concept continues with Where the Witches Waltz, The Devil in Salem, and Obsidian Spells of Hysteria. By now the horrors of Salem are in full swing. 'Witches Waltz is the harshest song on this album, and possibly the harshest they've done yet. The Devil in Salem showcases very brief periods of female vocals, some of the first ever used by these guys, which make repeat appearances throughout the album. In Obsidian Spells of Hysteria we hear the voice of (I'm assuming) Abigail Williams, backed by other voicers, invoking spells upon the town. The first of two ambient tracks appear now, this one being The Dreamstalk Masquerade. Once again, more beautiful synth and keyboard worth by Old Nick.

Tracks now open up and play far less intensely compared to earlier. We move from hysteria and chaos to the reigning in of the girls and bringing them to justice. The Crucible & the Cross takes place during the initial trial, where all the girls are initially accused of witchcraft. Serpent plays the voice of Judge Hathorne here as he lectures and convicts the girls. Onwards to Gallows Hill does well in creating the image of a warm Summer morning where the girls are marched to the gallows. Feeling no guilt, they accept their fate of death.

The final three songs close the album. Two of those, Stones Upon the Warlock and A Search for Tranquility, are two more keyboard driven, ambient songs. The former being a ballad featuring somber, female vocals, and the later similar to The Dreamstalk Masquerade. When Winter Spectres Come, in a purely metaphorical sense, is sort of the “to be continued...” aspect of the album. Serpent speaks the line “... the Devil still walks.”

If you're a returning fan of Ceremonial Castings, the general sound is the unchanged: Serpent's guitar has kept it's signature distorted sound, and his vocals are still the same ear wrenching shrieks, though gutturals are used less frequently, instead favoring cleanly spoken words. Bloodhammer's drumming is somewhat less audible, although it still kicks ass. Old Nick continues to weave splendid melodies with his keyboard work.

So, is Salem 1692 better than Ceremonial Castings' other works? That's hard to say, as we're given something totally different here compared to their other albums. Salem 1692 focuses much more on melody and atmosphere compared to Barbaric is the Beast or Immortal Black Art, just look at the three ambient tracks as proof. Myself, I believe this album to be an example of everything I look for in music, almost like my “defining” album; therefore, I can't praise it enough, as shameless as that sounds. Regardless, Salem 1692 is worth your money. This is definitely the best USBM release of '08.

Ceremonial Castings is quite possibly the best Black Metal band from the United States, but strangely enough have not been significantly recognized for it. This album may change that.

I was a bit skeptical that this album would not live up to Ceremonial Castings' previous releases, but after listening a few times, I realize that it meets and exceeds any standards set by Immortal Black Art or any of their other full-lenghts. It is not very often that a band's sixth album is their strongest, usually they run out of good material by that time, but here, Ceremonial Castings have done it.

You are probably aware that this album is themed after the Salem Witch Trials, I don't think I need to go into details on that, so we'll just jump right into the music itself.

The first track, "Beneath the Sabbath Moon" is my personal favorite from the album. It is genious compositionally, espesially for USBM. It starts off with an atmospheric intro; building suspense in the song, and making it a perfect opener for the album (and even their live set at the release show, which was amazing). Lord Serpent's amazing vocals come in with the verses. At 2:28 comes a bone-chilling melody in the left channel and an innovative use of natural harmonics in the right, which is an amazing effect. At 5:11 the song really shines. Counterpoint is executed perfectly using the two guitar voices, which differ in both rhythm and melody yet still mesh together perfectly. All the parts repeat a while but never seem to get old.

The next two tracks are typical Black Metal fare and I won't go into detail them, but they are not lacking in quality. "Obsidian Spells of Hysteria" fades out with a chant lead by the guest vocalist and then transitions to "The Dreamstalk Masquerade", a slow keyboard instrumental that serves mainly an atmospheric purpose and seems a bit out of place if viewed as an actual piece. It would have been better to have this track as an outro to the previous track.

"The Crucible and the Cross" is a majestic song that makes very nice use of the female vocalist. "Damned Be Those of the Craft" is definitely a close second to "Beneath the Sabbath Moon" in terms of sheer enjoyability. The lead line at 0:22 is amazing. The slow part at almost 4 minutes is beautiful, especially when the keyboard part comes in.

"Onward to Gallows Hill" at first seems to be a weak track on the album, but then goes into a flute lead break and into an enthralling slow part. If the first 3 and a half minutes were shortened down a bit or moved to later in the song it would definitely be more tolerable altogether, I just hate waiting that long until the flute part.

"Stones Upon the Warlock" doesn't seem to have gone over well in the other reviews, but it is actually one of my favorite songs on the album. It is an acoustic piece and the highlight of the female vocals, and is a very emotion-driven song. When Lord Serpent's voice comes in to back her up the track just builds suspense until the keyboard part comes in as a sort of climax, and a fitting end to a good track. It is a nice, short breather from the unrelenting black metal storm.

The last two tracks, "When Winter Spectres Come" and "The Search for Tranquility", serve well as closing tracks, but also seem a bit out of place. Don't get me wrong, they are great songs with some chilling lines, but by this time the album just seems to have run out of steam. It sounds like, if Salem 1692 was a movie, these songs would be playing as the credits would be rolling and no one really pays a whole lot of attention to it because they leave the theatre when they start. They just seem like closers and nothing else because the listener is tired from the rest of the album. The last one is another keyboard instrumental, but it could easily be a compliation of keyboard parts from the rest of the album. Even the intro to "Beneath the Sabbath Moon" also happens to be the last few seconds of the album.

For you who don't have time to read the whole thing: Overall this is a great album. This is one of the best Black Metal releases of 2008, and certainly the best USBM album of 2008, or possibly ever. You will not be dissapointed by getting this album.

To Ceremonial Castings: You have a great challenge ahead, living up to this album. Good luck, and I hope to hear much more from you.

Ceremonial Castings, the usually chaotic black metal band brings us something new to the table. They bring us a concept album, which thrusts us back to Salem, 1692. Witches are hunted, and Satan is called forth by the heathens. This concept album strays from the normal Ceremonial Castings, bringing unusual elements that aren't seen in previous albums.

The guitar brings forth very heavy, fast riffs. These riffs are very enjoyable, and are accompanied by fast drum beats. There are slower style riffs, which bring a creepy sound to the music. a great example of this is in 'The Devil in Salem'. There are very eerie sounding synthesizer parts added along to these slower guitar riffs. The outcome creates a lot of atmosphere many black metal fans like to hear. The rest of the album is filled with pounding drum lines, interesting piano and synthesizer parts, and great guitar work.

My favorite part of the album itself are the vocals, and lyrical theme of the album. The vocals consist of very deep, brutal death grunts as well as raspy black metal screams. They sound very good in moderation, and creates a lot of the brutality element. There is also a female vocalist featured on this album, and her voice is amazing. Her voice usually comes in on those creepy and eerie parts of songs I mentioned earlier. All of these vocalists are very skilled, and they will not let you down as a listener.

The lyrical theme of this album also is very creative, and I had not seen anything like it before. The concept of the album is to bring the listener back to Salem during the witch burnings, and let picture the time from the witches point of view. Ceremonial Castings never ceases to amaze me as a listener.

This album is perfection, in my opinion. They mold symphonic elements and brutality together to bring you a great album. There is not one thing that could possibly bore a listener, unless you dislike long songs. I'd recommend this release to anyone who likes bands such as Emperor and Marduk. This is possibly the best black metal release of 2008, go grab a copy now!