Concluding our journey for the time being we arrive at Old Sorcery's third album Sorrowcrown, a lengthy epic wading into Black Metal territory. Its unsurprising given the natural link between it and Dungeon Synth, however in my mind it comes a bold and unexpected move given how such a distinct style had been harnessed. This is no flirting affair but a full on plunge into bleak darkness, adopting many tropes of the genre and its modern flavors. Phantasm is the lone synth song, the shortest at thirteen minutes among three other gargantuan songs. Its opening half consists of brooding strings yearning for warmth, spelling a shadowy caution of unease felt under its majestic gleam. Its suddenly pivots with a minimal delayed synths echoing off the tense atmosphere over a quiet percussive pattern. Giving way to a rich, gleaming flood of suspended pan flutes, the ice thaws in a moment of beauty. True magic before descending into the esoteric unease of monk-like Gregorian chants, distant to the lurching whispers and lonely winds. That later part feeling somewhat stitched on.
Its other three songs are of the Metal persuasion, with only a couple of notable breaks into Dungeon Synth interludes. Leaning to the pale and narrow, its mostly of the Darkspace production style with a lack of high frequencies and clarity in scarcity as its bass, drums and shrill guitars become a muddy momentous force. Over its three songs the unending roar of blast beats and shrill howls finds a few notes of intrigue while mostly being reminiscent of artists who have walked thees paths before. Closer track Blades Of A Reflection manages to conjure a guitar and synth aesthetic almost mistakable for the classic Det Som En Gang Var, something I have strangely not encountered an emulation of before. Voidborn is a track toiling with maddening synths and mischievous melodies to encapsulate a devilish environment. After a meandering interlude it concludes with a beautifully slow and lunging riff playing out under glistening astral synths that swell brighter as the tempo drifts apart.
Fortress Of Molten Silver has perhaps the most interesting opening. A cryptic voice makes shadowy utterances as the guitar fuzz melds with synths. It feels short lived as the arrival of hazy lead guitars pluck sad, lonely melodies through the mud of sound, much like I Shalt Become, which tends to be the nitpick of this record. I don't think Sorrowcrown would have lured me in alone. Much of what it offers are ideas I've heard fleshed out well by other artists before. The chemistry Old Sorcery has didn't seem to apply to this project. Its a lengthy behemoth that slugs through tones of fantastic musical extremities toying with the black and beauty of night. In length it feels more like a meandering journey, fantastical but also a collection of ideas lumped together. With a lack of originality in the mix, its sudden pivots to new shades of intensity feel reminiscent of others. The mixing is also questionable, although low fidelity in nature, its blurry guitars and quiet drums always seem tough to get used to.
Rating: 6/10