Back in 2008/9, Dutch symphonic black metal act Carach Angren released their much-lauded, ghostly debut Lammendam. They followed it up with 5 more albums since, most excellent, some OK, but they are still widely regarded as one of the genre’s top acts.

And now, 17 years later, the band is revisiting the local tale and legend that spawned the debut (The White Lady from Schinveld), and introducing some new twists in the way of the new ghastly antagonist from the same legend called ‘Kariba’.

The 4 songs and 1 intro deliver everything you’ve come to expect from Carach Angren‘s masterful tale telling, wrapped in symphonic, theatrical, symphonic black metal, with all manner of spooky synths and over the top voices playing their parts; I’m pretty sure they got a Michael Caine impersonator to narrate the intro “A Malevolent Force Stirs”.

3 of the songs (“Draw Blood”, “The Resurrection of Kariba”, “Venomous”) are excellent, in line with the band’s better works like Death Came Through a Phantom Ship , Where Corpses Sink Forever or Franckensteina Strataemontanus. Especially closer “Venomous 1666” with its killer violin lines and soaring orchestration at 2:45, it might be one of the best songs of the band’s discography.

That said, “Ik kom uit het graf” is a little clunkier, choppier, more industrial and less epic, reminding me of the This is No Fairy Tale album, their worst effort in my humble opinion.

While only 20 minutes, the EP bodes well for a forthcoming album, as Carach Angren looks to show the world they are still one of the genre’s top dogs.

[Visit the band's website]

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