Rorcal - Heliogabalus

Rorcal from Switzerland are one of the most obscure bands on the planet and no I didn't have trouble getting the artwork for this album, its just black, really black. The album is available for free download from their official website but is also available as a CD presented in an A6 digifile, including an 8 page color booklet which is hand-assembled and hand-numbered and  inserted into a black envelope sealed with blood-red wax. The bleakness of the album artwork only further emphasizes the bleakness of the music from Rorcal. Obscure, yes but those in the know most likely became aware of the band from the "Myrra, Mordvynn, Marayaa" album released in 2008 or the very experimental "Monochrome" EP that came out just last year. That EP featured just one 35 minute piece and they have taken that one step further on this album with a 70 plus minute epic made up of 66 parts that is based on Rorcal's interpretation of the decadence of the Roman emperor, Heliogabalus. The band is a Doom, Sludge, Drone, Ambient beast that uses droning bass, guitars and amps that are pushed to the brink of destruction and tempos that even the likes of Khanate would find slow.

The production on "Heliogabalus" is magically clear, loud and organic and the vocals or should I say screams of misery create devastating levels of tension. Even though this album is apparently made up of 66 parts, you wouldn't know it most of the time as the sections blend into one another with very little if any variation and the first stages of "Heliogablus" are very tedious but that doesn't last for long. The band explodes into an crushing cacophony of deafening, over-driven amplified tortured sound, I guess this happens at around part 10 but who the hell can tell anyway. The loud-quiet-loud parts occur often throughout the piece and at its loudest, this album is an punishing album to listen to. Major variation only really happens once in the whole 70 or so minutes where at one stage the music becomes somewhat conventional Doom with a repetitive riff played over titanic drums. There is ample distortion, buzzing guitar, drones that make the floorboards tremble but what is mesmerizing is how this monster flows. Most people would cringe at the thought of sitting through 70 minutes of this sub-sonic dirge but once you get past the first few minutes, the rest is pretty easy to digest.

It is rare when any space within the music goes un-filled with some kind of ambient noise whether it be a synthesizer or some kind of guitar hum or buzz. The whole piece is definitely a tough listening experience even for the more hardcore drone/doom fan but there is gold to be found along its journey. This band nicely fills the void left by Khanate as it takes their approach just that one step further into the extreme end of Doom Metal, fans of Sunn 0))) will appreciate the droning qualities while fans of early Neurosis will rejoice at some of Rorcal's more traditional post-hardcore sections. Having said all that, most will find this all too much to put up with it, is it too long - Yes, is it too extreme - No. This is a well thought-out, amazing album that sucks the life out of anything within the realms of what people consider normal Doom Metal. I have to be honest, I do find it 20 minutes too long and if some of the fat was trimmed it would be one of the greatest albums ever made in the genre but it still comes damn close to that anyway. This is essential listening and you can get it for free so go for it.

1. Heliogabalus
Calo-Fror Records
Reviewer: Ed
Nov 3, 2010

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