Horrors Of the Black Museum - "Gold From the Sea" - CD - Obskure Sombre Records - 2009
Deriving their title from the eponymous 1959 thriller, this France-based band seems to have quite a few things in common with the namesake. The film, originally introduced in a cinema first called "Hypnovision", was based around an author seeking more authentic bases for his stories, so he ends up turning to hypnotising his assistant in order to have him carry out grievous acts.
Like the film, this band seems to rely heavily on the acts of others in order to compile this tribute to the fuzzed out blues-ridden Stoner metal Gods.
Artwork taken from the late American illustrator Virgil Finlay adorns the front, back, and fold-out insert; quite fitting in its own right, making up for the fact that this is a jewel-case.
For a band proposing some sort of metal, the opening of this album is highly reminiscent, in quite an odd way, of what I used to love about real 80s electronica.
THE VOO DOO THAT YOU DO opens with low-end rumble, perfectly saturating the hollow chants of a forlorn, destitute keyboard. And then the groove settles in, an aural theme found to be prevalent throughout. Vocals seep into the mix. Though the voice is decent, it could have done without accompanying lower hymn. You truly don't hear many current metal-based bands striving for this sound. Refreshing. After a short instrumental break, the vocals come back in to play, though they are a bit rushed this time, going against the music, and not in a good way. The entire air of the track would sound much better if it was just a touch slower. A changeup into a psychedelic storm of bassy, washed-out proportions turns the song on its head, with low end lines raging over constantly and warily strummed guitar. Though this does indeed pick up the beginning's slack, I do not at all like how the stereo modification relies on a channel changeup every other second. There is some rather beautiful keyboard work in this song, with the bassline coming to terms with the higher key tones quite nicely. A spoken word sample comes cascading in amongst djembe sounds propped up on the keyboards which run throughout. It works well, even though it was a bit abrupt. The first scream of the album, and we're eight minutes in. I was wondering where you were. The vocals are fitting in much better now, thankfully. The vocalist should use this tone more often, being a much more level, bass-driven style, without too much of a flourish. The whole piece contains a very dramatic atmosphere overall, with the sound constantly on its own edge. Closing out the song, the vocals are once again sinking on that negative side. Did Scott Stapp guest on this song?
DEAD MEN SHED NO TEARS starts off with a familiar keyboard tone, then quickly drops into a much stronger riff than its predecessor ever held, bounding over what appears to be muttered pig squeals in the background. Spoken vocals are heard, though they still hold no real impact here. They just don't work against this type of music… the style, perhaps, but not the tone. Orchestral keyboard noises fully complementing the crushing riffs. Agents of Oblivion takes a nosedive into the murky swampwaters of French sanctioned Louisiana with a copy of the Necromonicon in hand. Vocals are once again falling in line very nicely. It seems that it takes a few minutes of each song for them to match the music. I truly wish the vocalist would stick with the mid-level tones and dynamics instead of attempting to reach past his range.
The shortest and, in my opinion, best track of the album, HIDING MASK is ironically a cover of the Maryland based doom-metal band The Obsessed, subconsciously referring to the beginning thought that this is an exercise in déjŕ vu. The track is a departure from its two prior partners, in that it begins with a thumb plucked jazz-inflected bass line, though it does not stay the course for long, easily dropping into my favourite riff thus far, a devastatingly heavy powerchord with a twist. Vocals come in the same, off-putting tone familiar to the previous parts of the album, yet for some reason they seem to be working this time. Mild older Neurosis, Black Sabbath, Raven, and Electric Wizard influences shine through quite nicely here, though as this is a cover, it is found more naturally in the band's delivery than the actual song. Electronic flourishes come creeping in; once again, very nice to see a metal band employing these sounds, relying heavily on a very nice tremolo effect.
The title track, GOLD FROM THE SEA begins with ocean waves crashing slowly onto what one can only assume is a midnight shore. The same rumbling tones that led us from the beginning come out in a very slow manner now. I appreciate this band's love for and loyalty to bass heavy tribulations. Another spoken word sample plays out over the waves of sound and water, describing a madman's debacle; a tribute to the inane and insane. A slightly sloppy drum buildup gives way to surprisingly well placed French Horn sounds, though the ocean samples are beginning to get a bit overwhelming, degrading the sound quality a smidgen. The vocalist begins... rapping? The ...rapping... gives way to off tempo rimshot and faster paced riffs accompanied by synthesised violins, which would be quite beautiful were it not for said rimshots trawling all over the place, out of touch with the rest of the band. Just shy of fourty minutes, the album ends on the same note it started, almost literally; the thumping bass giving way to electronic padding.
Overall, this album, while instrumentally excellent for the most part, could have truly used more careful consideration when it came to the voices used throughout. It just seemed forced. That, and the lack of punch to the drums in the mix, are the main and practically only knocks on this bluesy metallic bag.
