Runemagick, yet another band that sailed past our mighty lighthouse unnoticed a few times. And that means their two offerings since their resurrection in 2017 – Evoked from Abysmal Sleep and Into Desolate Realms – got no attention. And no doubt about it, too. RMR was a different animal back then. We had too much material on our plates to immediately realize that an age-old DM band had just returned from the undead with a new album.
Runemagick proved to be pretty prolific over time, too. I counted some 13 full-length records since 1990,1 some of those signed to big labels like Century Media. So, the band sailed around the block a few times, to say the least. Old warhorses on a new mission since 2018 with grim messaging and a mean streak. They even sport Daniel Moilanen of Katatonia for unfettered stickfare, I kid you not.
And yet. This ain’t Metal o’ The Light, and this band has gone somewhat unnoticed by the public at large as well. So, do we have an underrated outfit only? Or one that just won’t care and will do things their own way? Probably the latter. They – for sure – never craved the blazing light of the mainstream. But here, whispers of dreary tales of empty tombs and rune-laden mystique in archaic graveyards caught our eyes and ears immediately. ‘The end of Mankind’, no less, is written on the tombstones, we’re told. Dark haunted musings about the tribulations of humanity inscribed on the dusty walls of a cenotaph? We couldn’t let that one pass.
Beyond the Cenotaph of Mankind is an unwieldy title for Runemagick‘s newest record, true. And – perhaps – that’s also indicative of an equally unwieldy record. But their brand of tastily roasted Doom Death Metal is not. Already their 12-minute epic entry point – Archaic Magick (After the Red Sun) – firmly puts its foot down. This track is a great example of stately Doom Death Metal in its prime, with all the atmosphere this genre can possibly muster. And in many ways, this first track gets you a whiff of what this piece is all about. It’s all well-paced, low-tempo, grinding woe that’s rumbling down at you. All of that is fueled by a decade-old experience that lets them concoct one burly, vile riff of crusty doom after the other.
Now, interestingly, the piece contains long stretches of Death Metal proper that often reminded me of one Rogga Johanssen in a more pensive mood. Yet, doom is undeniably the prevalent motion on Beyond the Cenotaph of Mankind. Some tracks – Endless Night and Eternal End, for instance – could have emerged straight from the pen of any of the Peaceville Three. The band’s fare also often comes on that bedrock foundation of typical slightly oriental vibes. Often heavy on repetitive riffing, you’ll find the rhythm guitars front center, whereas most solos tend to stay back in the mix. And that is to the detriment of the growls that almost lose themselves in this tremolo-heavy slightly sludgy mass of syrupy Doom Death Metal. In other words, the band around Nicklas Rudolfsson lets things meander a bit too much. And that – sometimes – lets the listener’s mind wander elsewhere and lose focus.
In the end, Beyond the Cenotaph of Mankind is a truly heavy listen. The record will try to weigh you down with sludgy doom riffs, a few solos, and an abundance of growls that roll in with little variation. However, the atmospheric injections and this knack to conceive often astonishing riffs allow the record enough space to blossom. And this is what saved it from the dreaded oubliette. And – finally – its tendency to endlessly meander about its wind-swept soundscape didn’t hurt the overall outcome too much. After all, Beyond the Cenotaph is a piece of work concocted by old hands that don’t need to be told how to flavor their metal. Their gruff doom might be olde, but it’s still juicy.
‘Nuff said.
Record Rating: 6/10 | Label: Hammerheart Records | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 28 April 2023
- No guarantee here, there seems to be some confusion.-↩