Welsh band TOR MARROCK has a knack for pulling off mystery and illusion, captivating fans with a persona that has been very effectively translated into their brand of Doom/Gothic Metal with Black Metal elements. Just look at that combination, doesn't it make for the most brilliant, dark material you could happen across? The art of their image alone is starkly captivating enough, but with the added intensity and intrigue of the music, they can be said to be one of the UK's more interesting bands.

They describe themselves as Cellar Metal, a term I've not seen before and which I do not for the life of me understand. Do they draw their inspiration from wine? Do they record their music in a cellar? We can only speculate, and that's probably what they want us to do anyway.

But as soon as I plug into their newest album Destroy the Soul, I start to "get it", albeit a little slowly, but by god, am I captivated. There is something so peaceful and ethereal about their music, but with a darkness and subdued anger as well. I know, you're thinking, how can something be peaceful and angry at the same time? The music is so starkly contrasting in and of itself, that it's better described as "peace within anger". Listen to a track like "I Feel the Sun I See the Stars" and you'll know what I mean. The avant-garde expansion on humanity, death, emotions, life, and nature is so explosive with truth and sensibility that it is hard not to be emotionally gripped and ripped apart by it.

Vocalist Tor Marrock is the perfect protagonist for this entire dreamscape, with his low and dark rasps drawing you into his twisted world of imagination. The Doom and Gothic elements are very much present in this album as well, adding emotional depth and character to the aforementioned "peace within anger" concept. A lot of bands these days particularly within the Thrash and Death Metal scenes lack the ability to be in-depth and emotional. Then again, their music does not exactly require them to. But with the landscape of Doom/Gothic/Black Metal that TOR MARROCK find themselves in, there is so much room for experimentation and pure expression of self. TOR MARROCK is the band you escape to when you're sick of CANNIBAL CORPSE's one-dimensioned-ness. Hell, TOR MARROCK is the band you go to regardless, because their music seems to just understand and articulate so much about humanity that they form an instant connection with the listener.

They're not all about connecting though, they have some brutal moments, the darkness, depravity, hopelessness, and depression of their sound accentuating every moment even more and cutting your brain like a sharp knife demanding for a retrospect of existence - it's that intense and every track has its own facets and branding to it. You've got ballads, heavy tunes, avant-garde tunes, almost everything. Their songs don't drag on either, they're pretty short but each one packs such a vicious punch of impact that the whole album culminates in an experience of mind-boggling existentialism. They are seriously, super refined. They somehow have to ability to key into a particular musical frequency, whether it be through their use of effects and atmosphere, or whether it is a particular chord progression or pattern, or maybe it's their poignant lyrics... but the point is, this particular frequency they tap into has an amazing effect on humans. Just like the "Devil's tri-tone" first used by SABBATH, TOR MARROCK have got a signature way of song-writing building up here as well.

I feel that their brand of music is truly phenomenal. TOR MARROCK is one-of-a-kind, and they're not going to be a band that everybody gets. But for me personally, they're the best thing that's happened in modern Metal music, honestly. There is absolutely no band I've heard that matches up with the kind of intensity and emotionality they are putting out, making them really special and unique in my eyes, like a gem of undefinable value. TOR MARROCK's music has latched onto my psyche and is demanding I pay the full price of my sanity, and it's a price I just have to pay.