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If you’ve paid much attention to the news recently, you may be aware that last month, the Catholic Church said goodbye to Pope Francis, who passed away at the age of 88. His death led to a period of mourning, and his eventual burial in a tomb at the Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. There he shall lay, in the peace of eternal rest. Unless of course, something happens that leads to his exhumation, like it did to Pope Formosus in the year 897, who was dug up and had to stand trial for perjury, despite having been dead for seven months.
Known as the Cadaver Synod, this bizarre tale forms the inspiration for A Morbid Parody Of Justice, the latest album from Bristol’s WARRIOR POPE. The four piece have been active for a while now, slowly carving out a niche for their particular brand of blackened doom and while it’s certainly an acquired taste, this new full length is an impressive piece of work. It’s a lethargic forty minutes of low-slung bass strings, deep growled vocals and guitars that bring to mind being flattened by a boulder. There are vague hints of a morbid sense of humour and an overwhelming atmosphere of suffocating dread.
In other words, this is doom metal at its most underground and anti-commercial. There are no catchy hooks to grab onto and there is an abundance of speaker punishing distortion. The whole thing seems to exist solely to give listeners a lifelong ringing in the ears, along with a misanthropic outlook and shorter lifespan. The only thing less pleasant must have been the smell at the trial.
However, if you’re in the right frame of mind, it’s also a compelling listen. Put this on when you’re alone in a darkened room and it will smother you with the gradually unfolding horror. Tracks like Strangled Legacy aren’t so much songs as they are extended odes to the absurdity of human beings, and even the unexpected appearance of a trombone does nothing to lighten the mood. Pornocratia is a gravelly, pessimistic introduction and the lengthy Rotten Sun might be one of the most uncompromising doom cuts of the year so far. This is so abrasive that it makes AHAB look like a bunch of happy go lucky optimists with sunshine in their hearts.
And frankly, we’ve got to commend them for the bravery of releasing a record this gruelling right at the start of the summer. WARRIOR POPE are the musical equivalent of the rain that spoils the barbecue and what’s worse, they don’t rely on any eldritch nightmares from HP Lovecraft’s oeuvre to work their hideous spells. The Cadaver Synod wasn’t an act of malevolent extraterrestrials or corrupt Gods, it was done by men. Men who thought they were doing the right thing. Summer is cancelled.
Rating: 7/10
A Morbid Parody of Justice is out now via self-release.
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The post ALBUM REVIEW: A Morbid Parody Of Justice – Warrior Pope appeared first on Distorted Sound Magazine.
