Dark Castle
Spirited Migration

From the scorching Florida comes Dark Castle, a duo consisting of Rob Shaffer and singer and guitarist Stevie Floyd. Both are lovers of black metal, particularly Burzum and Bathory, and both are fascinated by the world of esotericism and legends. It is precisely from these elements that they draw inspiration to give birth to their first full-length under the name Dark Castle. "Spirited Migration" was released on May 26, 2009 and from the get-go, it cuts through the dense American musical undergrowth with machete blows.

What this duo offers is an original mix of various metal influences, complemented by personal touches sparked by Shaffer and Floyd's love for a certain type of literature and a particular way of viewing life. From the opening "Awake in Sleep", a deeply oppressive atmosphere is evident, recalling doom metal, although not in its most unbearable form: Floyd's distorted and horrific riffs lend an incandescent air to the song, but more broadly to the entire CD. Floyd's voice seems to come straight from hell, harsh, sick and unhealthy—just what is needed to complete the vocal element of "Spirited Migration." Alongside the doom collapse, there is also a certain closeness to the dusty, crushing sludge of friends Kylesa, onto which vaguely psychedelic excursions are grafted, outlining a malformed universe in which the Dark Castle seems to have been born. The solidity of "Into the Past" stands out alone, followed by the title track, a sort of medieval strumming on acoustic guitar alone, which seems to have been born from the mind of some storyteller forgotten by civilization. Another instrumental is "Weather the Storm," the world's wake-up call on its last day: three minutes of apocalypse amid distant whispers and gloomy messages from the beyond.

It must be said that, quality-wise, the tracks on "Spirited Migration" do not always maintain the stellar levels seen at the beginning of the CD, but gradually, the pathos wanes, up to tracks like "Flight Beyond" and "A Depth Returns" which are enjoyable and well-interpreted but have little to make themselves memorable. Nonetheless, despite this slight hitch, mostly due to inexperience, "Spirited Migration" still represents a valid work, with solutions like few others I had heard. The attempt to mix so many musical genres together, seasoned with an ever-horrific and "tense" sound, turns out to be a clever and courageous choice: Shaffer and Floyd demonstrate they know what they're doing. The fact that they also have clear ideas is an additional proof of the goodness of what they offer. Now we have to wait and see what they will be capable of doing in the future.

1. "Awake In Sleep" (6:51)
2. "Into The Past" (5:35)
3. "Spirited Migration" (1:46)
4. "Growing Slow" (4:31)
5. "Weather The Storm" (3:26)
6. "Flight Beyond" (4:13)
7. "Grasping The Awe" (4:12)
8. "A Depth Returns" (6:33)