WL//WH Review THE BLACK CAPES
The Black Capes
‘Looks Like Death’ is the new album by Athens-based gothic rock band The Black Capes, you can get it on 12″ vinyl through The Council of Bones (USA) and Ikaros Records (Europe) as well as on digital format too. The band plays eclectic gothic rock music in the likes of the old-school streams and they are another serious case from the Greek dark alternative scene that in recent years has been stepping very high…in the abyss.
The band has already shared the stage with names such as Moonspell, Paradise Lost, Tiamat, Kylesa, etc, and if touring resumes in 2022 they have plans for the first European and U.S. tour. This is their third album and it comes in the tail of ‘The Bride Of Frankenstein’ single in 2021. All things The Black Capes is a venomous stab in the heart like a gothic elegy, claustrophobic at times, strictly personal, and so evocative as many other names who derive from the old-school style. They are very good players, and they write their own gothic ‘narration’ of the world and the dirty deeds in it. The band’s frontman is Alex S Wamp from the Athenian sludge/ southern gothic/ hard rock band Potergeist, and he is the key to the band’s relentless soundscape. Not only is he the ‘gothic’ singer but he is blending his ‘chants’ with other elements dug up from the soil of his works with Potergeist. The first one to appear from the new album was ‘The Rejects Anthem’ with an official video too…“We are the ghosts/ We are the damned/ We don’t fit your perfect world”.
From the earthbound winds of Carl McCoy to the dark matter of Artaud Seth and with all the seeds as sired by Andrew Eldritch, the singer of The Black Capes shows same cold blood with such a strict approach in all, and yet his own abyss has grated him a very warm voice that any skilled band could rely on, and this skilled team is our guests today. The next venom to appear from the album was ‘Apathy’…”A free new world to keep you at bay/ To never look the other way…“, watch it loud.
The entire album is a killer release according to my tastes, and if these tastes of mine are mostly darkwave rather than gothic we all know that these two separate worlds are actually linked vessels, so, any striking gothic rock record like ‘Looks Like Death’ is always more than welcome and a clear joy when listening to it, and I can assure you that this album is way dark and real, and groovy like hell. I could give you more focus tracks from the album but I won’t because you must listen to it carefully alone from start to end with a glass of good absinthe in handy, but I have to mention ‘Reset’ that I know will be the next official video and it has some thundering lyrics too according to the plague of our times; the domestic violence and its horrible effect; homicide-suicide-femicide. This song is also unique as it offers one amazing interaction with the saxophone all along the initial darkwave smog it was created. Nothing else by me now, here is The Black Capes with ‘Looks Like Death’ LP, listen loud!!!
Keep Up With The Black Capes:
The Black Capes
Written by Loud Cities’ Mike
