The Dark Army Raises is the debut album of the Russian band Lucifer’s Dungeon. It was originally released in digital form by the band earlier this year but is now slated for wider distribution on CD (and digitally) by GrimmDistribution on May 7th. Today we’re helping spread the word about the new release by hosting a stream of the album’s second track, “Unconcious Faith“. And while this may not qualify as a premiere, given the album’s previous digital release, it will probably be the first exposure to the album by many of our visitors.
For that reason, it’s also worth noting that the tracks on The Dark Army Raises do not all sound alike. While black metal shapes much of the album, even in those songs the music diverges. “War”, for example, is alternately brooding and chillingly delirious, while “Burn Your Dogma” is haunting and depressive in its slower movements and anguished in its bursts of speed and intensity.
Yet black metal is only one of this hour-long album’s faces; it also includes ambient tracks, such as the opener, “Dungeon”, in which ethereal choral voices rise up above dark, droning tones that create an ominous atmosphere, and “The Last Day of the World”, which is mystical and hypnotic, gleaming and cold.
“Unconcious Faith” differs from all these examples. It’s recognizably a black metal track with a dark and sinister aura and harsh, grating snarls, but it’s one that’s driven by a changing pattern of compulsive rhythms. A heavy, hammering bass-and-drum combo coupled with a pulsating guitar arpeggio launch the track. Later, the blast-beats break out under long, grim chords of gloomy melody, and still later a driving snare rhythm and punchy bass beat provide the propulsion beneath a skittering guitar lead.
And so the album provides a multifaceted and ever-changing experience, one in which you encounter different moods and energies along its unfolding pathway.
Below you’ll find “Unconcious Faith” along with two of the songs mentioned earlier, “War” and “Burn Your Dogma”. On the album, the band’s founder, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Cain Black was joined by drummer Cerberus. Since this recording the line-up has changed, and Cain Black has now been joined by drummer Gromm for the recording of the band’s next album, which is expected to see release by the autumn of this year.
Order:
https://grimmdistribution.bandcamp.com/album/007gd-lucifers-dungeon-the-dark-army-raises-2017
Lucifer’s Dungeon:
https://www.facebook.com/lcfdungeon
http://lucifersdungeon.bandcamp.com
GrimmDistribution:
http://grimmdistribution.bandcamp.com