Dark Castle, Spirited Migration

I don’t normally think of heavy, oppressive doom-psyche when I think of sunny Florida — oranges and bikinis, perhaps, but not desolation. The duo comprising Dark Castle, however, seem to think their home state is worthy of inspiring oppressive, suffocating and dark feelings. Spirited Migration is the band’s debut release and a hell of a first effort it is. Throughout the 37 minute run time, this pair fill the air with beefy riffs, catchy hooks and steady drum work that are a sure fire recipe for sludge tinged doom success.

Handling the lead vocals, for the most part, Rob Shaffer’s bellowing death metal growls are delivered slowly, perfectly timed with the band’s dark rhythms. Not only does Shaffer deliver the lead gutturals, but he’s also responsible for the impressive (though somewhat plodding) drum work on the album. His counterpart, Stevie Floyd, rolls thick riffs and melodic hooks through the speakers with plenty of textured distortion. Her musicianship really shines however on the small leads and acoustic moments on the album. Dark Castle feel the combined effect of their efforts is heavy enough as there’s not a bass lick to be found on the album. I can only imagine how much heavier the album would be with some thick bass rumblings backing these two up.

Awake in Sleep
“Awake in Sleep” starts off this doomed journey with ambient noise for the first 25 or so seconds. At that point you’re swallowed whole with heavier than hell riffing and steady drum work. Who needs bass when you can get your guitar tones this low. While the pace slowly increases to a slow gallop, the riffing becomes more desolate and melancholic. The distant vocals come in at the two minute mark ushering in melodic hooks and creative drum work. The guitar work at the three minute point has stoner/psyche vibe that’s a nice contrast to the thicker riffs.

Into the Past
Warbling electronic noise opens “Into the Past” as some light guitar work comes in shortly after. This one is a bit more upbeat in rhythm, but still has a mournful feel to the overall tone. The guitar work is stellar throughout at the drums hit hard at just the right spots. The vocals are a bit more tortured as the growl in the distance.

Spirited Migration
The title track is a short, sub-two minute instrumental that really showcases what Floyd can do with a guitar. The acoustic notes on this song serve to break up the thundering riffs but still retain that doom feel.

Growing Slow
“Growing Slow” starts off with some massive riffs that are memorable and thundering. Plenty of head banging will ensue as this one really gets underway. The three minute mark sees some of the best guitar/drum combination work on the album and will leave you drooling for more.

Weather the Storm
Light strumming with a little reverb thrown in for good measure starts off “Weather the Storm” along with some electronic atmospherics. This track certainly has its fair share of psychodelic influences on the guitar tone and structure.

Flight Beyond
I love the opening guitar work on this next song. It’s a bit chaotic and disjointed, yet still maintains a nice structure and groove. The distant vocals don’t come in until well into the song (about the 2:30 mark) and can barely be heard over the crashing drums and riffing. This is a killer track.

Grasping the Awe
“Grasping the Awe” starts with a light groove and spoken vocals from Floyd that are off in the distance a bit. The song goes through a series of trade-offs between the spoken vocals and Shaffer’s guttural screams that erupt with beefy riffing and thundering drums. This is a dramatic song that has plenty of feeling flowing through it.

A Depth Returns
Wavering noise gets the last song off to a slow start, but Dark Castle quickly come in with a nice post-rock bit of guitar before the guttural growls come in with beefier riffs. “A Depth Returns” is a slow moving glacier of crushing doom and one hell of a way to end an album.

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Favorite Tracks:
All of them

Additional Notes:
N/A