Warchetype and the Ancestral Altar
Fresh off last year’s three-way split with Lords of Bukkake and Sons of Bronson and single-track Lords of the Cave Worm full-length, Barcelona crushers Warchetype make their latest offering with the album Ancestral Cult of Divinity. Released, like their first two LPs, on Alone Records, the six-cut Ancestral Cult of Divinity showcases the kind of self-awareness you might expect in modern traditional doom, owing much of its sound to a darker interpretation of The Obsessed with nods to Trouble, Candlemass, Saint Vitus and Black Sabbath along the way, but Warchetype don’t shy away from displaying a heavier, death metal influence. This is a big part of what distinguishes them from the legends by whom they’re inspired, and given a long European history for pioneering death/doom, the five-piece is by no means out of line with a slew of preceding acts.
Led by the snail’s pace riffage of guitarists David Bruguera and Jordi Boluda and fronted by the versatile Iban Arrieta, Warchetype cast an effective balance of new school and traditional doom, their roots showing through in the structure and tempo changes of their songs – three of which on Ancestral Cult of Divinity cross the 11-minute mark – and the freshness with which they approach the sound providing that new school feel. Where a lot of trad-doomers feel reinterpreted Sabbath riffs are enough, Warchetype repurposes “Snowblind” into closer “Doom Brotherhood,” a song well aware of the tribute it’s paying and all the more effective for wearing its influence on its sleeve. Likewise, the Wino-style vocal cadence in the verses of “Bastards” makes no bones about its origins.
But traditional doom is tricky, and the real question is does Warchetype have a personality of their own they can bring out through the music? I would argue yes. Arrieta’s vocals are a big part of it, as one would expect, but new bassist Andreu Cano and drummer Pep Cervantes (the latter also of Cuzo) play a large role as well. Cano thickens the material with a low end that has no trouble standing up to the guitars of Bruguera and Boluda, and though he’s very much in a doomed element, Cervantes offers small flourishes to his drumming during the middle section of “Akelarre” that distinguish Ancestral Cult of Divinity among its genre peers. Even the incorporation of death metal vocals or riffs is nothing new in doom, but Warchetype do it well and in a style of music where originality is hardly top priority, they seem to give just enough to stand out. “Akelarre,” it should be noted, is a structural triumph, breaking into horrifically blackened atmospherics before launching back into its lethal ride cymbal groove.
Apart from an unnamed tambourine-laden folk interlude, experienced doomers will know what they’re getting from Warchetype, but the potency with which the band delivers their material – hitting many of the same marks as The Gates of Slumber is for the current American doom set – offers plenty of appeal for the denim-and-backpatch types in the choir waiting to be preached to once again. I’m not about to hold that against Warchetype, as Ancestral Cult of Divinity is a marble slab of genuine traditional doom that hits hard and leaves a distinct footprint. I wouldn’t ask anything more of either the band or the album.
Alone Records/The Stone Circle
Tags: Alone Records, Barcelona, Spain, Warchetype
