I always say this (maybe one day I'll stop) but raw black metal isn't something I'm a huge fan of, though being a fan at all is an upgrade for me. A few years I wouldn't touch it with a blackened ten foot pole. But over the last couple years, I've come to enjoy some it. Every so often, I'll run across a release that is truly interesting. OLD CASTLES' "Sarcophagical Lament of the Past," is one such release.

My biggest complaint with raw black metal is the production. I'm a whore for a good sounding album...sue me. It seems a lot of these releases sound bad without any real bearing to it. In the case of "Sarcophagical Lament of the Past," the album's sound heightens the atmosphere. I suppose complaining about raw BM's, well, rawness is about as dumb as complaining about doom being slow. But at the same time, how you feel is how you feel. For the most part, this album hits the mark. The instrumental tracks, "Vampyric Labyrinths of Madness" are mostly boring. I say "mostly" because while it fits into the album as a whole, individually they are little more than filler.

But the other seven tracks make up for it. "Megalithic Altars of Azazyel" opens the album with an oddly toned riff that has a little groove to it. The drums take this further and give the rough track plenty of flow. The vocals are blackened gutturals, which definitely heighten the atmosphere. The bass is decent too-much of the rumbling is attributed to the low end and maintains a tight, harrowing grip on the song.

"Scorched in Grotesque Damnation" is a faster paced song, both for the drums that drive the tempo and the riffs which wrap firmly around the song. The opening growl was huge, providing an early kick to the energy that keeps up for the duration. The middle portion of the song is a wall of sound that is a battalion of instruments hell bent on ripping the ear drums apart. The last part of the song is a bass centered section that is a bit ambient and sparse. "Carved In Funerary Bones," is my favorite song on the album. It is oddly melodic but disturbing as hell. The bass settles in to a certain spot on my mind that makes me feel creeps out and uncertain-impressive that a song can reach into the mind like that. The tempo of the song gains speed and turns from regular disturbing to chaotic disturbing.

"Sigil Of Mercurial Blood," is another banger. The riffs throw in some groove here and there which pieces together the other parts of the song, particularly the growls/shouts and the ambient noises that settle in behind the drums. The last minute or so is a whirl wind of blackened riffs and drums. "Sacrilege From Diabolical Twilight," is the darker song on the album due in large part of the vocals, which seem like one continuous entity. Crying out in pain, in audible form works great for the song's atmosphere which is mysterious yet direct in approach.  This song is rather intense on headphones-it feels like you are being sucked into some never ending void.

The final track,"Crossing The Veil Of Gamaliel" let's the bass take over the track with all the other elements built around the deep tones and flowing out naturally from there. The song is much more languishing and less direct than the couple songs before but it ends the album well. All in all, OLD CASTLES' "Sarcophagical Lament Of The Past" is an example of how an album that be raw and against the grain but atmospheric and engaging at the same time.