RORCAL – Heliogabalus

Rorcal, my hat goes off to you. Heliogabalus is one of the heaviest, trance-inducing and depraved albums I have ever come across. The five-piece from Switzerland have carefully crafted an aural monolith of doom that will stand tall for a long time to come.

At first there is nothing but silence and a lonely hi-hat for en eerie minute or so. Then all hell brakes loose and you are in for one heavy journey. Massive riffs and disharmonies crawls along, accompanied by snarling vocals and subtle yet heavy-hitting drums. Bands such as Burning Witch and Khanate instantly come to mind.

For a doom record lasting more than one hour, the album is surprisingly varied and fresh. You will find everything from long drum brake (doom style), spacey ambient parts, long drones and feedback andsome pretty intense and majestic tremelopicked riffs.

I deeply regret not giving this album a listen before the end of 2011, as this has to be one of the best albums of 2010. I really enjoy every aspect of it, and I am having a hard time pointing out flaws, as there is little to none. The devastating riffs, the early Earth and Boris drone parts, killer vocals and a clear yet super crushing sound makes this a perfect album in my book. The only sad thing about this album is that the band will have a pretty hard time following it up. The anticipation begins and I really look forward to hearing more from these doomsters

http://www.rorcal.com/