CoC : Interitus Dei - Lonely White Idols : Review

Interitus Dei - _Lonely White Idols_
(Bestial, 1997)
by: Brian Meloon (7 out of 10)

One problem with compilations is that you only get one chance to make an impression, and this impression may not be accurate. When I first heard these guys on the Bestial compilation [CoC #33], I thought "atmospheric doom/black metal". After a more complete listen, I now find them more similar to bands like The Gathering. It has the same melodic guitar-driven base style, with keyboards used to round out their sound. Their music isn't a carbon copy, but it's about the same level of heaviness, and the female vocals give it a similar sound. What they change about that base style is an Indian/Arabic influence and more varied keyboards. The keys feature a good variety of tones and textures, and remind me of what's done in atmospheric black metal (Nokturnal Mortum, Mundanus Imperium, etc.). Both grunted male vocals and angelic female vocals are used. Most of the music is competently performed, with the exception of the guitar leads, which sound a little cheap, both production-wise and from the fact that they're a little bit off. Other than these parts, the production is excellent. I can recommend this for fans of The Gathering and similar styles, as it has enough good parts to offset the weak ones.

(article published 19/11/1998)