Review : CULTED – “Of Death and Ritual”

Culted – Of Death and Ritual
released March 30, 2010 on Relapse Records

Rating: 3.5/5

I never knew that I would be interested in the sonic equivalent of hanging out alone in a dank basement, getting stoned, while burning pasta on the stove. Yet that is what Culted has done on their mini-CD followup to their Relapse debut, Beyond the Thunders of the Upper Deep.

Culted is three-fourths Canadian, and one-quarter Swedish. Allegedly, the entire band has never even been in the same room, corresponding only via the Internet, where they found a common love for bands like sunn 0))) and Electric Wizard. It also makes sense that they dig Swans, as a cover of “Whore” (originally titled “Butcher” from that band’s 1984 album, Cop) concludes Of Death and Ritual.

A plodding, deliberately-paced exercise in blackened doom, Culted overcomes the problem of distance to create their hauntingly dark music. Though it may be unlikely to ever catch them on tour, we can still hope for more collaborative output in the future.

FCC: 4
Try 1, 2

01. Spirituosa
02. Black Cough. Black Coffin
03. Dissent
04. Whore