I was taken aback by the opener Of Grievance and Exhumation… (The Fallen): a calm, melodic sound suddenly bursts into moments of relentless brutality – excellent drum work and speed, speed, speed. Vocals are unmistakeably rotten and vary from the deep grunted to the slit shores. Midway through the song there is yet another acoustic moment – I would say it complements brutality by enhancing it.
But before babbling further on the album itself, please allow me to introduce the band. CEPHALECTOMY have released ’98 demo Dark Waters Rise, which earned them a deal with Discorporate Music, via which followed the debut CD Sign of Chaos (2001) and the present piece of masterful mystigrind art Eclipsing the Dawn (2004).
CEPHALECTOMY officially play Mystigrind, which should be a myriad of influences ranging from H. P. Lovecraft’s writings to whatever the insane minds of mastermind Corey Andrews and evil bard Jason Nichols have to offer. And that is saying a lot, because Eclipsing the Dawn is variation impersonated (not to be taken for experimentalism).
Discerning thee Apocryphal Divinity starts off as a rather doomy song, in the old ANATHEMA/ CANDLEMASS vein, only to be brutally murdered and transformed in some amorphous proposal of brutality. In fact, despite the ever-present frenzy madness, CEPHALECTOMY never set melody aside, and Eclipsing the Dawn varies from brutal grind to an almost symphonic level of melody, alternating madness with bonanza. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. This is powerful stuff we have here. CEPHALECTOMY have also managed to include a sample of The Lord of the Rings (‘Are you frightnened? | Yes…| Not nearly frightened enough.’) intertwined with musical responses. That is a rather innovating detail.
I could not help noticing I keep writing ‘they’ when I am not sure it is fair. CEPHALECTOMY is the result of one man’s effort – Corey Andrews – on guitar, bass, drums and vocals, with a little help from Jason Nichols’ demonic voice and lyricism. There is one Rob Decoste character responsible for ‘crimes against humanity’, but I still have not quite figured what it represents.
There is only one slight problem to the recording: vocals are not always clearly perceptible, an aspect the band will probably bear in mind in their next opus of maleficent tyranny.
What else can I write about Eclipsing the Dawn? It is an album to remember, to say the least – unique and very different from what is or ever was practised in the Death/ Black music scenario. CEPHALECTOMY’s mystigrind is light-years above mediocrity and present their music in rather complex ways. A proof that Canada has a lot to offer (just think of CRYPTOPSY and ORIGIN).
Official Site Cephalectomy | Myspace Cephalectomy
Cover Cephalectomy – Eclipsing the Dawn Front
Cephalectomy – The Sundering of Eternal Sentience