• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

The Haunting of Sablewood is the fourth EP in this one-man band's catalog, which seems to be his format of choice. I thought the compilation Amethyst & Moonstone, itself a collection of two prior EPs, had some decent moments of melodic black metal, but I'm losing the thread with this new one. The band's black metal base is there, one that is rather melodic with the tremolo guitars smoothed over to which are added clean vocals and some keyboards, neither of which are strangers to black metal. The clean vocals are sung in a gothic style, with a mournful tone, sort of in the vein of Autumns Eyes or Type O Negative, but without the same level of conviction. The keys have a jangly sound, which is kind of creepy but at the same time reminds me of something ABBA might have employed. Experimentation is necessary and someone has to put themselves out there, trying new combinations of styles and sounds and for that, I give Carathis credit, but this mixture of black and traditional metal with '70s pop music sounds and gothic elements doesn't gel. Perhaps someday, we'll look back and think of how Carathis was ahead of the curve, perhaps not. For now, The Haunting of Sablewood is an oddly confusing listen. I don't hate it, but I don't love it, either.