CLACTONIAN – Mother Goddess

vote
7.5

• Band:
  CLACTONIANS
• Duration: 00:12:14
• Available from: 12/07/2024

Streaming not yet available

Sometimes sincerity pays. Clactonian, an Italian-Finnish band that features members of Ashen Tomb and Thecodontion, immediately present themselves, even in their short bio, as influenced by bands like Beherit and the old school of black/death metal of Necromantia, Archgoat or Barathrum. What can I say, except that this is exactly what you can find in this three-song demo, plus a Von cover.
The air that blows in short is very clear and depends almost entirely on furious compositions in Beherit style, structured on obsessive riffs, screamed and heartbreaking vocals and a rhythm section almost always fully engaged. And yet, we are not faced with the usual exercise in style of the war metal genre, thanks to a whole series of devices that prolong its life.
First of all, Clactonian have chosen a recording that is brutal, but also adequate, which allows you to easily follow what our guys are doing. In addition to this, GEF's vocal performance is very rough but also discernible, so much so that in this sense the primordial refrains are another arrow in the bow of the formation. It may seem strange, but the repeated screams of “Dea Madre” and “Bone Ritual” really remain imprinted in the mind. Finally, the songs are arranged with taste, even if in such a spiritually primitive context, and you can appreciate the tempo changes, the drum passages and the little solos scattered here and there.
If the first two songs are two ferocious bullets, with the third “White Thunder” the pace is partly slowed down, but even in this case the heavy riffs create another remarkable song, demonstrating that the band is able to write in a versatile way. Finally, the cover of Von is also very nice, reinterpreted with the right attitude.
Clactonian themselves define “Dea Madre” as “Paleolithic Black Metal Of Death” (the Beherit quote is very evident and intentional) and the artwork shows off a dark reinterpretation of the famous statuette of the Great Mother, yet another small detail that immediately places the Italian-Finnish project a couple of steps above the umpteenth war metal band. And it's just a demo. Bravo!