Cellar Graves - Omen

A single occurrence of a darkened synth slowly pulses its way over lines from the 2001 thriller film "Frailty" as a slow ambiance builds up. Signs of religious fanaticism and cawing crows play on as we are slowly led into what could be considered an original thematic crawl for the next greatest retro-horror film or television series. A trickle of guitars slowly lets out the final ends of the song as we are delivered into the fantastic dancing sensation that would be the next song on the album 'Witching Hour'. This, my friends, is how you properly deliver a menacing piece appropriate not only for the upcoming Halloween season, but also for year-round playlist binges. 

What I refer to it the opening song titled 'The Dig' on Cellar Graves' debut EP "Omen". This unique blend of 90s periodic electro-industrial and the cinematic horror elements from geniuses such as John Carpenter have led to what I'm calling the best release of 2018 this far. While artist and musician Chase Dobson has gone onto say that there are influences of synthwave within the album, I am finding it hard to see the traces of the genre. That may be due to the fact that Dobson cuts his own unique rhythms out of the genre and with his background in industrial, the album comes off way more experimental, brave, and analogue in comparison to the synthwave genre. 

Nonetheless, "Omen" is a fascinating beast not only for the addictive music found on it, but also due in part to its length. Even taking out the remixes at the end of the EP you're left with five songs that last a little bit over twenty-seven minutes. Not a single one of these songs ever get stale and there was never a time when I felt the need to skip one song to get to the next even on repeated listens. It was very hard picking out favorites from "Omen", but if I had to choose two (and I'm choosing two because I could not decide between these two), I would go with both 'Under Earth' and the title track 'Omen'. 

'Under Earth' is just such a good song in industrial experimentation and moodiness filtered over underlying somber tones. This is the type of song that just gave me chills and goosebumps the whole ride as it went from slower paced electronics to mid tempo electronic clashes. 'Omen' takes the cake for being a soul bending dance track that I can easily see taking over DJ sets. It's fun, fluent, and still retains the overall sense of dread and horror that is a central theme on the album. 

The two remixes at the end of "Omen" are industrialized flavorings of 'Witching Hour' and 'Tormented'. The first of which was done by Blackcell. They take the song and give it a raw feel while adding in their own echoing vocals. The second remix came from Statiqbloom, and boy do they up the percussion on 'Tormented'. Taking the base song and layering an extra dose of EBM on top turned it from a dark floor filler to a stompy bruising ground. 

Cellar Graves may just be starting out but with a refined technique already showing and great control over their own art, this is a project that can only excel from here on out. Whether you're looking to add music to your playlist or looking for a jump start into the Halloween season, "Omen" is there for you. 

While there is not a physical release out for "Omen", it is currently available for digital download. 


Sep 25 2018