Label: Candlelight Records
Review by Warren Mayocchi
Take one classic cult horror movie, add a generous dose of Demon Lung, and the result is “A Dracula”. The 1978 movie that has inspired this new music is called “Alucarda”. Interestingly the movie was filmed in English, and dubbed in Mexican Spanish. It is considered extreme for it’s time with portrayal of blasphemy, demonic possession, and satanic ritual. The movie is fairly short and shows the end days of a convent. The album opens with an instrumental track “Rursumque Alucarda” – the title instructing us to read “Alucarda” backwards to reveal “A Dracula”. The instrumental evokes the feeling of Pink Floyd and John Lennon for me. However, after that relatively peaceful opening, the unrelenting doom begins. “Alucarda”, the movie, portrays the descent into evil for two young women, and the album is clearly inspired by the storyline. Lyrically the songs reflect characters and scenes from the movie – for example, scenes from the movie are described, in “Mark of Jubilee” there is “my love Justine now hangs crucified / you will all die soon”, or later in “Raped By the Serpent” there is “once of beauty, now she sleeps / in a coffin of blood / rises now to bleed the world”. Musically this album is definitely doom metal – heavy drumming, creeping guitars and echoing vocal. The song quality is consistent, so it is difficult to place a mark on any of the songs as a favourite. They are all good, and there is a dark story unfolding with every track.
I found the temptation to partake of the movie too intriguing and watched “Alucarda”. The album is great by itself, there is no need to follow the movie link to enjoy “A Dracula”, but, as a concept album, this is really awesome! Top quality doom metal by Demon Lung which inspired me to watch a cult horror movie; this is now my favourite concept record.
Rating – 87/100
Tracklist
- Rursumque Alucarda
- Behold, The Daughter
- I Am Haunted
- Gypsy Cursem
- Deny the Savior
- Mark of Jubilee
- Rursumque Adracula
- Raped by the Serpent
Line Up
- Shanda Fredrick – Vocals
- Phil Burns – Guitar
- Brent Lynch – Guitar
- Jason Lamb – Bass
- Jeremy Brenton – Drums