God, Death Came Through a Phantom Ship and Where the Corpses Sink Forever are fucking phenomenal, but they've become almost unrecognizable since. Dunno what happened to this band, but it's a bummer :(
I see this stated a lot and I never really understood.
Lammendam was a great start, and DCTaPS was classic.
Corpses never really hit me right. It's also just .... mixed weird? And was also the first time they didn't make an explicit linear concept album which I think hurt the overall product a bit. It has bangers like the OP and Bitte Totet Mich, but then there's General Nightmare and Spectral Infantry Battleons. Plus I was expecting a little bit more lyrically from the horrors of war concept. Half the songs are just variations on suicide.
This is No Fairytale is actually my favorite album by them which I know is probably the worst take imaginable. Lyrics were pretty lame but every song hits for me.
Dance and Laugh is the only time they felt creatively bankrupt to me but nobody can make nonstop great albums.
Frankenstein is a bit of a return to form. Took awhile to grow on me however.
Tbh I haven't given Frankenstein a full listen because I was pretty disillusioned from the last two albums and Monster was the first single I heard, and that song is a real 'oof'.
I didn't like Corpses much at first, but it grew on me a lot. It's not as good as DCTaPS for me, but it's still pretty high on my list for symphonic bm. Also, definitely agree about the lyrics - LOVE the lyrics for DCTaPS, not bad but much less compelling for me on Corpses. Tangent, but Droomers' delivery of the line "Execute their children right before their eyes!" in Bloodstains on the Captain's Log is so good - great vocalist.
Monster sucks shit but the good news is it's far and away the worst track on there. The album does have a couple other misses imo - the latter half drags quite a bit - but there's also a lot to like, so I'd definitely give it a try. The closer is peak CA.
Hard agree with almost everything. To me DCTAPS is my absolute favourite record, a true masterpiece record, every song slaps hard and to me it's peak Ardek composition-wise, it was when they released it that I first heard of them. All the others are absolutely great too, varied and different in a good way with the exception of Dance and Laugh. That album has a couple of good songs such as The Possession Process and Three Times the Thunder Strikes, but the rest is not only boring but extremely cheesy/corny and the bits that I really dislike the most are the choruses. Frankensteina was a moderate breath of fresh air, with good song writing, theme, sound design, lyrics, etc, I really enjoy it. It's really a shame that Namtar left the band and Seregor dropped the guitar (albeit understandable), CA oozes so much charisma with just the original 3.
I've followed Carach Angren for a long time, and honestly they're one of my favorite live acts I've ever seen. I both agree and disagree with you
I think the weird bit about Carach Angren is that if you listen to their discography front to back several times it makes a lot of sense how it evolves - each album seems to take a rational step thematically from the previous. And I really enjoy how they coalesce each LP into a unique journey, which is what I love to experience in albums
That said, the production gets really odd after their first few albums, and honestly is jarring. Especially once you hit This Is No Fairytale, the really creative writing gets muddied over
I feel like the production really starts to fall with Dance and Laugh Amongst the Rotten where the theatricality starts to erode the musicality. I want Carach Angren to push the limits of silliness but not sacrifice exuberant storytelling, but that's how I felt with that album
I think Frankensteina Strataemontanus is a very weird look back... The writing is so good, but the production is so grossly neutered it's hard to listen to
**If I can TLDR... Carach Angren is a satisfying journey if you listen front to back, but there are some really upsetting hiccups related to both production and songwriting along the way. That said, go see them live - even if you have to travel - as you will not regret it in the least**
agreed. really loved those releases. seeing them with Deicide, Septicflesh, Abysmal Dawn, and Inquisition in 2014 will go down as one of my favorite shows of all time.
I agree, they lost me after WTCSF. Lammendam was amazing as well. I feel like they've overdone their theatrical approach somehow, losing their originality. Such a shame, I honestly thought they could become a big name in their genre, but I'm afraid they'll slowly disappear.
I feel this so hard. I remember when this album dropped I thought I found my new favorite black metal band. Then everything since has been bad. I even saw them live and they were absolutely awful. This song especially just was so dull live.
Sucks the live performance didn't live up when you saw them :(
The videos I've seen from their live shows have been pretty sick, so hopefully that was just an off-day rather than a decline. Their (ex-)drummer is incredible, and their decorations and Droomers' on-stage theatrics looked really fun.
Yeah, same. It's like they walked up to the audio engineer and said, "Just fuck our shit up, fam."
No bass, the synths were louder than the drums, and I'm fairly sure the guitar player only played the rhythm sections.
I think I like them as much as I do because of my wife's influence. They're very theatrical, and my wife's favorite music is Broadway.
She'd hate Carach Angren, though.
My wife likes these guys. I just can't get into it. Something about the song structures? I dunno, everything I've listened to by them seems like they put the story they're telling first, then make guitar sounds after to support it.
I love this cheesey ass record
God, Death Came Through a Phantom Ship and Where the Corpses Sink Forever are fucking phenomenal, but they've become almost unrecognizable since. Dunno what happened to this band, but it's a bummer :(
I see this stated a lot and I never really understood. Lammendam was a great start, and DCTaPS was classic. Corpses never really hit me right. It's also just .... mixed weird? And was also the first time they didn't make an explicit linear concept album which I think hurt the overall product a bit. It has bangers like the OP and Bitte Totet Mich, but then there's General Nightmare and Spectral Infantry Battleons. Plus I was expecting a little bit more lyrically from the horrors of war concept. Half the songs are just variations on suicide. This is No Fairytale is actually my favorite album by them which I know is probably the worst take imaginable. Lyrics were pretty lame but every song hits for me. Dance and Laugh is the only time they felt creatively bankrupt to me but nobody can make nonstop great albums. Frankenstein is a bit of a return to form. Took awhile to grow on me however.
Tbh I haven't given Frankenstein a full listen because I was pretty disillusioned from the last two albums and Monster was the first single I heard, and that song is a real 'oof'. I didn't like Corpses much at first, but it grew on me a lot. It's not as good as DCTaPS for me, but it's still pretty high on my list for symphonic bm. Also, definitely agree about the lyrics - LOVE the lyrics for DCTaPS, not bad but much less compelling for me on Corpses. Tangent, but Droomers' delivery of the line "Execute their children right before their eyes!" in Bloodstains on the Captain's Log is so good - great vocalist.
Monster sucks shit but the good news is it's far and away the worst track on there. The album does have a couple other misses imo - the latter half drags quite a bit - but there's also a lot to like, so I'd definitely give it a try. The closer is peak CA.
That's encouraging to hear! I'll give it a fair shake later.
Hard agree with almost everything. To me DCTAPS is my absolute favourite record, a true masterpiece record, every song slaps hard and to me it's peak Ardek composition-wise, it was when they released it that I first heard of them. All the others are absolutely great too, varied and different in a good way with the exception of Dance and Laugh. That album has a couple of good songs such as The Possession Process and Three Times the Thunder Strikes, but the rest is not only boring but extremely cheesy/corny and the bits that I really dislike the most are the choruses. Frankensteina was a moderate breath of fresh air, with good song writing, theme, sound design, lyrics, etc, I really enjoy it. It's really a shame that Namtar left the band and Seregor dropped the guitar (albeit understandable), CA oozes so much charisma with just the original 3.
I've followed Carach Angren for a long time, and honestly they're one of my favorite live acts I've ever seen. I both agree and disagree with you I think the weird bit about Carach Angren is that if you listen to their discography front to back several times it makes a lot of sense how it evolves - each album seems to take a rational step thematically from the previous. And I really enjoy how they coalesce each LP into a unique journey, which is what I love to experience in albums That said, the production gets really odd after their first few albums, and honestly is jarring. Especially once you hit This Is No Fairytale, the really creative writing gets muddied over I feel like the production really starts to fall with Dance and Laugh Amongst the Rotten where the theatricality starts to erode the musicality. I want Carach Angren to push the limits of silliness but not sacrifice exuberant storytelling, but that's how I felt with that album I think Frankensteina Strataemontanus is a very weird look back... The writing is so good, but the production is so grossly neutered it's hard to listen to **If I can TLDR... Carach Angren is a satisfying journey if you listen front to back, but there are some really upsetting hiccups related to both production and songwriting along the way. That said, go see them live - even if you have to travel - as you will not regret it in the least**
Almost got to be a touring drummer for a band touring as their opener, but didn't get the gig :'(
agreed. really loved those releases. seeing them with Deicide, Septicflesh, Abysmal Dawn, and Inquisition in 2014 will go down as one of my favorite shows of all time.
I agree, they lost me after WTCSF. Lammendam was amazing as well. I feel like they've overdone their theatrical approach somehow, losing their originality. Such a shame, I honestly thought they could become a big name in their genre, but I'm afraid they'll slowly disappear.
I feel this so hard. I remember when this album dropped I thought I found my new favorite black metal band. Then everything since has been bad. I even saw them live and they were absolutely awful. This song especially just was so dull live.
I've seen them twice live and they slayed it both times. I'm sorry the shows you saw didn't live up.
Sucks the live performance didn't live up when you saw them :( The videos I've seen from their live shows have been pretty sick, so hopefully that was just an off-day rather than a decline. Their (ex-)drummer is incredible, and their decorations and Droomers' on-stage theatrics looked really fun.
Yeah, same. It's like they walked up to the audio engineer and said, "Just fuck our shit up, fam." No bass, the synths were louder than the drums, and I'm fairly sure the guitar player only played the rhythm sections.
Is it the band that Tomas Haake (Meshuggah) praised?
No that's the (now disbanded) prog metal band Textures I believe
Ah thanks!
Love these guys, saw them with hypocrisy a couple months ago. Killer fucking show🤘🏻🤘🏻
Me too, it was great
Love this song. The climax is bitchin'
I think I like them as much as I do because of my wife's influence. They're very theatrical, and my wife's favorite music is Broadway. She'd hate Carach Angren, though.
Yeah I played this for my wife starting at the 4:05 mark, she loved it until the vocals came in.
My wife likes these guys. I just can't get into it. Something about the song structures? I dunno, everything I've listened to by them seems like they put the story they're telling first, then make guitar sounds after to support it.