Haunted Cenotaph - Nightmares from Beyond

HAUNTED CENOTAPH - Nightmares from Beyond (FALLEN TEMPLE CD 2018)

A very enjoyable and solid debut recording was spawned by this new Polish death legion called Haunted Cenotaph. They were formed in 2017 and it took them one year to get these first four songs ready, which later have been released under the title "Nightmares from Beyond" by Fallen Temple. Yeah, I definitely enjoyed this stuff, it's one of those bands which I cannot say that are revolutionary or amazing beyond all expectations, but their music is just as solid and worthy as it should. So, sit down, grab a beer and listen to some cool doom / death metal! 

Yeah, this is what you'll get from Haunted Cenotaph. An obscure, filthy and stinking like an old grave doomy stuff, which has only one aim and that's to torture your flesh and bury you alive under a tone of cemetery sand. Haunted Cenotaph's music is simplistic, very coarse and harsh and to be honest, I don't think that there's anything what would give you a jaw drop effect. But I like its atmosphere, viciousness and morbid feel, as well as its heaviness and generally I always enjoy such rough sounding doomy death metal bands. Maybe it's a bit one dimensional and I do admit that it sometimes begs for a more aggressive, faster kick. But the impression is very positive anyway, these guys composed some good songs for sure. More so, the production is not bad at all, performance from Haunted Cenotaph members is also very good. And they have some excellent riffs, some of which can resemble not only the ancient way of death metal like Hellhammer, but also Asphyx, Pentacle, even Autopsy and early Samael! But it doesn’t sound archaic at all. Simplistic and harsh – yes, but not archaic and boring. 

I need to write a separate comment for the CD's artwork and band's logo, which are both fantastic. I love this style and it's always nice to see them done this way. Such art always catches my attention and it’s good if it comes together with great music. It does here. 

Standout track: ”Sabbatical Vengeance” 

Verdict: 70/100