The Crevices Below - Below The Crevices

The Crevices Below
Below The Crevices
Nordvis Produktion

The Crevices Below is a newly formed project from vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Dis Pater, who is otherwise known as the creative force behind the ambient black metal outfit Midnight Odyssey.
With The Crevices Below’s debut effort ‘Below The Crevices’, the Brisbane (Queensland, Australia) based musician has once again created a bleak and atmospheric black metal album that isn’t all that far removed from the sounds he created within Midnight Odyssey, but different enough to allow the two projects to stand apart from one another.
The opening title track ‘Below The Crevices’ lays down the musical template of what The Crevices Below has to offer the listener, with the song starting out with haunting vocal effects (Which ties in with the conceptual theme of the album of a king who rules an underground kingdom, whose descent into the depth of paranoia only heighten the shadows that surround his domain) and keyboards, before eventually transforming into a fast black metal number. Although traditional in its black metal sound, the dominance of keyboards throughout does give the song an overall melodic feel, while the twist on the guitar riffs is enough to embellish upon the standard black metal sound of most.
‘The Tombs Of Subterranea’ takes the guitar tones and approach of the opener and broadens the template even further, with the song taking on a sound that brings to mind Killing Joke mixed with a bit of old era Katatonia, but with a distinct gothic edge with the use of keyboards, ever present and upfront bass lines and diverse vocal approaches (Both clean and growled efforts).
‘A Grand Cavernous Awakening’ is a definite stand out cut with its progressive influences, multiple shift in tempos and its strong melodic gothic rock moments (Which again, bring to mind mid-period Katatonia), while the instrumentation on ‘Whispers Of Sorrow’ mixes the ambient with the haunting and the sombre, which could have easily emerged from The Cure (Think 1989’s ‘Disintegration’).
The gradually increased tension of heavy guitars and depressive vocals within ‘Trapped In Suicidal Depths’ make for an uncomfortable and haunting listen, while ‘Carrying The Cries Of The Lost’ finishes up the album with an exercise in sound extremities with its purely acoustic start soon making way for an all out assault of intense black metal attack for its remaining seven minutes.
Although having produced a couple of efforts in the past, Pater has undoubtedly produced his strongest and most memorable work to date on ‘Below The Crevices’. The Crevices Below delivers a dark and sombre sound that is every bit as haunting as it is crushing, and definitely should be checked by those who are interested in the more atmospheric, gothic and depressing side to all things black metal related.

For more information on The Crevices Below, check out - http://www.myspace.com/thecrevicesbelow

© Justin Donnelly