Cultus Sanguine/Live At Midnight Club/My Kingdom Music/2024 Live Album Review

 

    This  is  the  final  review  of  an  album  from  Italy's  Cultus  Sanguine  which  shows  them  bringing  their  blackened  mixture  of  doom  and  gothic  metal  to  the  live  stage  and  the  album  was  released  in  2024  by  My  Kingdom  Music  and  called  "Live  At  Midnight  Club".

  Live  audience  reaction  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  gothic  metal  style  keyboards  a  few  seconds  later  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs.  Vocals  are  done  in  more  of  an  angry  shouting  style  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  and  the  slower  sections  of  the  tracks  also  add  in  elements  of  doom metal.

  Spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  at  times  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  some  of  the  songs  also  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.

  Black  metal  screams  are  also  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  album  along  with  one  song  also  introducing  clean  playing  onto  the  recording,  all  of  the  songs  are  recorded  live  and  all  of  the  tracks  stick  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  tempo  direction.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  life,  sorrow  and  depression  themes  and  a  couple  of  tracks  are  also  written  in  Italian.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Cultus  Sanguine  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black,  dark,  doom  and  gothic  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  live  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Sum  of  All  Fears"  "Dust  once  Alive"  "The  Graves  Forgot  My  Name"  and  "We  Have  no  Mother".  8  out  of  10.

  https://www.facebook.com/JoeCultusSanguine/?_rdc=1&_rdr    

Cultus Sanguine/The Sum of All Fears/My Kingdom Music/2024 Album Re-Issue Review

 

  This  is  a  review  of  another  recording  from  Italy's  Cultus  Sanguine  which  shows  the  music  going  for    mixture  of  black,  doom  and  gothic  metal  and  the  album  was  originally  released  in  1999  and  called  "The  Sum  of  All  Fears"  and  was  re-issued  in  2024  by  My  Kingdom  Music.

  Stringed  instruments  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  doom  metal  direction  which  also  mixes  in  some  keyboards.  A  lot  of  the  vocals  are  done  in  a  angry  spoken  style  while  the  clear  vocals  add  in  touches  of  gothic  metal   and  a  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  while  some  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a small  amount  of  clean  playing.  Elements  of  black  and  dark  metal  can  also  be  heard  at  times  along  with  some  melodies  also  being  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  and  the  whole  album  sticks  to  a  slower  direction.

  On  this  album  Cultus  Sanguine  focused  more  on  a  dark  metal  style  which  kept  the  elements  of  goth  and  doom  metal  from  their  previous  release  and  focused  less  on  the  black  metal  side.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  depression,  solitude  and  life  and  a  couple  of  tracks  are  also  written  in  Italian.

  In  my  opinion  this  as  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Cultus  Sanguine  and  if  you are  a  fan  of  black, d ark,  doom  and  gothic  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Sum  Of  All  Fears"  "A  Grave  Upon  Mankind"  and  "As  A  Funeral  Inside".  8  out  of  10.

  https://www.facebook.com/JoeCultusSanguine/?_rdc=1&_rdr

    

Cultus Sanguine/Shadows' Blood/My Kingdom Music/2024 Album re-issue Review

 

  Cultus  Sanguine  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  doom  and  gothic  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  1997  album  "Shadows  Blood"  which  was  re-issued  in  2024  by  My  kingdom  Music.

  Heavy  guitars  and  keyboards  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  clear  gothic  metal  vocals  a  few  seconds  later.  Elements  of  doom  metal  are  also  added  into  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  while  the  harsh  vocals  are  mostly  grim  black  metal  screams,  spoken  word  parts  and  whispers  can  also  be  heard  on  a  few  tracks.

  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.  Clean  playing  is  also  introduced  on  one  of  the  tracks  along  with  some  of  the  vocals  also  adding  in  a  few  angry  shouts  at  times  and  the  whole  album  also  sticks  to  a  slower  direction,  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  On  this  recording  Cultus  Sanguine  took  black,  doom  and  gothic  metal  and  mixed  them  together  to  create  their  own  style  of  dark  metal.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  darkness,  depression,  life  and  sorrow  themes. 

  In  my  opinion  this  was  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Cultus  Sanguine  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  black,  doom  and  gothic  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  re-issue.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Calling  Illusion"  "We  Have  No  Mother"  and  "Silent  Tunes  of  Falling  Blood".  8  out  of  10.

  https://www.facebook.com/JoeCultusSanguine/?_rdc=1&_rdr   

Cultus Sanguine Interview

 

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording of the new album?

We completed recordings and mastering in January, than we had a few gigs here in Italy, both headlining or festivals, all with a good response in performance and audience participation, then we practiced live version of the new album songs, now we are planning gigs in Europe and Italy, and starting creating new tunes of decadence.

2.In September you have a new album coming out, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

I think it keeps our shadow metal trademark with an improvement, we have grown in these years. as men, musicians and composers, our style is recognizable, and keeps the mark we left with "The sum of all fears", keeping our style alive.

3.The band was broken up for 17 years, what was the cause of the split up and the decision to reform?

We splitted one year after the release of The sum, stress among us was too high, the pressure in creating a new album better than previous damaged relationships among us, so we decided for a quit, even if keepin in touch among us, in fact, in 2018 during a talk between Federico (guitars) and me we spoke something like "do you know ? I am writing new stuff" ... "me too" , "ok, why dont we create a new album ?" and here we are.

4.What are some of the lyrical topics and subjects the band explores with the newer music and also how would you describe your progress as songwriters over the years?

The main theme behind lyrics is the failure in life, all these lives going on day by day in the deeper grey, without passion, with poor relationships and no intentios; in my opinion this is one of the greatest tragedies, dont you agree ?

As lyric composer I wish my pen blade is sharper, and creates deeper wounds, as musicians we are imroved, and more closer among us, we rehearse weekly, so our understood is better, both as musicians and as friends, besides our life engangements as full time jobs and families we try to hang out together in order to share new ideas and for our friendship.

5,Most of the band members have been involved with underground metal for more than 3 decades, do you feel metal has changed a lot from the early era when you first formed the band?

It has changed a hell of it ! when we started back in '93 bands got signed to labels due to the quality of their demo tape, great songs and being original, now bands got deals due to the number of followers, and music in not a main point of choose, speaking music wise, and being a fan before a musician I see main events being a sort of "Best of 80ìs or 90's metal revival", and the bigger problem in music is the dramatic failure in records sales. 

6.Your music also stood out as being very different in the 90's, do you feel that you were a huge influence on the later black, dark and doom metal bands that came out in the past 3 decades"/

Yeah, back in early 90's bands like us, Deynonichus, Bethlehem played a weird mixture between dark, black and doom metal, mixed with a jant dose of insanity,  something that had influence and got extremized into funeral doom or dark metal, some bands admitted our influence in their music, and this is for us a pride , I think that this happened because when we started of course we put our influecies in our music , but we never tried to sound like a particular band. 

7.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

We always had weird artwork, dark and funeralish, all the images in "Dust once alive" were taken by a great friend of us, they have been shot in an abandoned mental hospital in Parma, 

Artwork for us has always been really important, it must drown the listener deeper into music and lyrics, and in my opinion this one reflects our music.

8.Out of all the shows the band has played over the years, which one stands out the most?

We have in our memory some great shows we had the opportunity to play, in the past I remind with great pleasure back in 2000 "Darkness upon Italy" festival with Carpathian Forest, Mortuary Drape, Opera IX, with a huge audience and all great performances from all the bands, among last ones we had a great show at Rock Hard Festival in Milan.

9.Do you have any touring or show plans once the new album is released?

We are planning shows for the new album right now, so if some promoter is interested is welcome, we are planning a release party near Milan, and we will play the whole new album for that special gig, besides this we are already confirmed for some festivals in Italy and Europe. We cant plan a propher tour due to our full time jobs, but if someday will arrive a good opportunity we'll consider it

10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black, dark and doom metal?

I think we are appreciated by fans of all these genres and also disliked by fans of all these genres ah ah, because we cant be recognized in a single genre, we dont have a defined audience, or not ? fans into REAL dark metal without gentle vocals or arrangements.

11.In 2021 you were also a part of a split with 'Black Oath', what are your thoughts on the other band that had participated on the recording?

Personally I love Black Oath ! they are a great band and first of all great people, I know them since 1995, and we are friends , we played a great gig together last year and personally I wait to share stage with them again, if we can we hang at each other gigs, I also had the opportunity to do guest vocals in their last great album. IN particular that tape is a limited tape we did for that show we did together and was sold out at the show.

12.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Into a doomer, darker, weirder form, we are far from reaching the perfect funeral sound, so await new albums, we want to give a sound to the smell of tomb.

13.What are some of the bands or musical styled the band members are listening to nowadays?

Above all for me there are Celtic Frost, Devil Doll and Christian Death, then also Death SS,Bathory, Paradise Lost, Depeche Mode, Current 93 and Slayer, a strange mixture that maybe gives a picture of who we are.

14.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?

First of all thanks  for this interesting interview, was a pleasure to reply, drown yourself into suicidal dark metal thru "Dust once alive"

Joe F/Cultus Sanguine

 

https://badmoodmanmusic.bandcamp.com/album/dust-once-alive

Cultus Sanguine/Dust Once Alive/Solitude Productions/Bad Moon Man/2023 Full Length Review

 

  Cultus  Sanguine  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of  black,  doom  and  gothic  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2023  album  "Dust  once  Alive"  which  will  be  released  in  September  as  a  joint  effort  between  Solitude  Productions  and  Bad  Moon  man.

  Clean  playing  starts  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction while  the  vocals  are mostly  black   metal  screams.  Spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  at  times  along  with  the  keyboards  also  giving  the  songs  more  of  a  gothic  touch  when  they  are  utilized  and  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90's  era.

 

 Clear  vocals  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  style.  Elements  of  doom  metal  are  also  added  into  the  slower  sections  of  the  songs  along  with  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  as  well  as  some  of  the  tracks  also  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length,  clean  playing  also  returns  in  some  parts  of  the  album  and  the  whole  album  also  sticks  to  a  slower  direction.   

  Cultus  Sanguine  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  black,  doom  and  gothic  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  tragedy  of  the  gray  and  mundane  life.     

  In  my  opinion  Cultus  Sanguine  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  black,  doom  and  gothic  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Facing  Vulture  Season"  "Delusion  Grandeur"  "The  Greatest  of  Nothing"  and  "Days  Fall  From  Life".  8  out  of  10.

  https://badmoodmanmusic.bandcamp.com/album/dust-once-alive