The gothic literary movement, which emerged in Britain during the second half of the 18^th century, brought a fundamental change to horror literature. This literary style, which was introduced by British authors, emphasised on pleasurable horror, most typically a mix of beauty, romance and fear. The style would reach its peak in 1818 with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein which is considered today as being simultaneously the first modern horror and science fiction story. It is thus undeniable that the gothic literary movement, in both its development and expansion, is deeply rooted in British culture and history.

It is with a desire to translate dark British folklore into music that the band OLD CORPSE ROAD opted for a distinctive gothic sound infused within their brand of black metal. While the style had been previously attempted by the like of Cradle of Filth and Hecate Enthroned, OLD CORPSE ROAD presents, in their new album "On Ghastly Shores Lays The Wreckage Of Our Lore" (out on April 24th, 2020 via Trollzorn Records), a different and refreshing take on the genre.

This third full length is a natural progression from the second album, "Of Campfires And Evening Mists". As such, the sound we came to expect from OLD CORPSE ROAD is ever so present. The grandeur displayed by the background orchestral arrangements is ever so present as well as the slow and melancholic guitar harmonies all of which are laden on a of 90s black metal foundation. While the influences coming from Cradle of Filth's early albums are undeniable on the surface, a deeper inspection reveals a big difference in their interpretation of this gothic inspired black metal. In fact, OLD CORPSE ROAD has a much more introspective approach where the raw aggressivity of black metal meets beautiful harmonic guitars and folk inspired melodies. 'Black Ship', the third song of the album, best exemplifies this meshing of styles and emphasis on grandiosity. In fact, while the first few minutes of the song are dedicated to both an acoustic intro and a aggressive black metal section, the second half of this eleven minute song is dedicated to ominous melody that is alternatively played on organ, guitar and finally on what sounds like an Egyptian oud. This musical progression and emphasis on grandeur is both what made OLD CORPSE ROAD unique and interesting.

Premiered today 'Demons of the Farne', the sixth song, is the album's best representation of a common theme in gothic literature, namely the juxtaposition of romance and horror. The background orchestration creates a grandiose and beautiful atmosphere where dismal, sorrowful and melancholic melodies are intermittently played giving the listener feelings of both fear and awe.

Full review of OLD CORPSE ROAD's "On Ghastly Shores Lays The Wreckage Of Our Lore" can be found here.

OLD CORPSE ROAD is:

The Bearer - Guitars and Vocals
The Revenant - Guitars and Vocals
The Wanderer - Bass and Spoken Word
The Dreamer - Percussion and Ambience
The Watcher - Keyboards and Vocals

MORE INFO AND PRE-ORDERS:

http://www.oldcorpseroad.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/OldCorpseRoad
https://oldcorpseroad.bandcamp.com
http://www.trollzorn.de
https://www.facebook.com/trollzorn

Saturday night, pouring rain while queuing in front of the location and a chilly wind. What a great start to the gig which was once more presented by Redback Promotion who slowly became a great constant in the live metal scene not only in Germany but worldwide. Fortunately it stopped raining when I got inside. Well done. First of all I had to check the merchandise and found some cool Marduk shirts (my favorite one in dark gray). A huge choice of shirts from all bands with fair prices. Great.

After that I found my place by the stage and waited for Doodswens from the Netherlands to start. Well, it took a long time and with about a 30 minute delay they started playing. But first of all, their vocalist / drummer had to pet the skull and lit some candles which took some time. I guess candlelight dinner might be a whole evening with her. But then the show started with a lot of smoke. The trio played really harsh but melodic black metal without any experiments and it was nice to hear. Some Scandinavian vibes here and there mixed with a bit of typical Dutch black metal trademarks (more dissonant) turned out very well and satisfied everyone in the sold-out Resonanzwerk. Apart from presenting songs from their full-length Lichtvrees they also offered all songs from their demo and two new ones. Cool shit and another proof that the black metal scene is a really great pool for amazing music.

Setlist: Intro (Luzifers Abschied) In Mijn Bloed / demo I / Ijsheiligen / Het Zwarte Waterland / demo II / demo III / demo IV / Devils Stone / Vlaamse Vloek / Outro

After Doodswens came US-brutal tech-deathers Origin took the stage and with them a total contrast to the other two bands. I had my doubts that this would work but vocalist Jason Keyser gave some orders to the audience, a lot of them obeyed and a mosh- or circle-pit started spinning. Although this kind of music absolutely isn't my cup of tea I have to confess that the guys send out a lot of energy and power. The show was really some kind of inferno and if you are into this kind of death metal, this probably was the right thing for you. But obviously there also was at least one guy who didn't like them, otherwise I cannot explain why the singer had a full cup of beer thrown at him. Stupidity is everywhere these days, I guess…

And now everybody was waiting for legendary Marduk. I never saw them live with their "new" vocalist Mortuus but the last time must have been in 1995 or so. So I was pretty curious how they would deliver and I must say that they did a fantastic job. But before that happened, everybody had to wait a long time again. A liturgical intro that seemed to be endless was played and after about 15 minutes the Swedes entered the stage. With the first notes the Swedes played, the slight frustration because of the long wait was completely blown away but also because it was 'On Darkened Wings' from their stunning 93 album Those Of The Unlight which is still a work of reference when it comes to black metal. The sound was very good and all the guys were impressive but Mortuous especially was very striking on stage because of his gestures and acting. Surprisingly they also played a song from their debut Dark Endless, namely 'The Funeral Seemed To Be Endless' (although I personally would have preferred 'Still Fucking Dead (Here's No Peace'). And another surprise was that they didn't do any song from their personal "Reign In Blood". I guess you know which album I mean, don't you? But Panzerdivision wasn't the only one that didn't find any consideration on the setlist this evening. Also Heaven Shall Burn… and La Grande Danse Macabre were spared for some reason that no one knows. But the other songs also had a great impact on the crowd and I was really happy to get 'Wolves' , another song from Those Of The Unlight. After that the show was over after about 80 minutes and I must say that they didn't lose any of the power they had back in 1994. Great show!

Setlist: On Darkened Wings / Equestrian Bloodlust / Shovel Beasts Sceptre / Souls For Belial / The Funeral Seemed To Be Endless / With Satan And Victorious Weapons / Wartheland / Blood Of The Funeral / The Levelling Dust / The Sun Has Failed / The Blond Beast / Throne Of Rats / Wolves