Hailing from Austria, Carathis (moth) is essentially a one-person project Erech Leleth, augmented by the drumming skills of Palisade on later tracks. Amethyst & Moonstone is not a proper album, but the coalescence of two E.Ps 2021’s Amethyst Fortress and The Moonstone Temple that coincides with this digitally.
Carathis walk an excellent line between melody and raw black metal. In places, the keyboards are almost vaudevillian and are offset by the harshness of the vocals. At times the later tracks off Moonstone border on a European pop aesthetic with large hooks. It is an album that is a juxtaposition of ideas and a paradoxical destruction of stereotypes. Those expecting a doom masterpiece from the gorgeous album cover are in for a shock.
‘’ The Prayer’’ and ‘’ The Priestess’’ synthesise multiple ideas, whilst ‘’ The Crimson Gate’’ sticks to a more structured framework if such a thing exists. The guitars are clear, as is the keyboards, yet the rhythm section suffers from a lower end product when it should be, at times absolutely bombastic. Reliant on big anthemic styles, upbeat structures and a sense of grandeur, the viciousness present in part one (Amethyst) gives way to a more ‘’accessible” and highly polished sensibility enshrouded in wickedness and the dark.
Amethyst & Moonstone marks the progression of a project over a scant eighteen months. Surprising, uneven, and downright strange in places. It is professional and upbeat yet detached and impersonal. It is a release best enjoyed with an open mind and for those not reliant on the more predictable tropes of raw black metal or any other genre.
Carathis: N/A
Release Year: 2023
Label: Personal Records
Category: Album
Country: Austria
Reviewed by Sparky
