I had quite a torrid love affair with Castle from 2011 through 2016. Their gritty, back alley take on occult doom really got into my bones and I was helpless to resist their demonic charms. Albums like In Witch Order, Blacklands, and Under Siege were in near-constant rotation at the House of Steel and I wanted more, more, MOAR. They were just so skilled at their chosen brand of minimalist street doom and Elizabeth Blackwell’s rough yet seductive vocals were nigh irresistible. By the time 2018s Deal Thy Fate rolled around, some of the bloom was off the black rose and things were starting to sound a touch less essential. Fast forward 5 years and we’ve survived a million crises and the whole occult doom trend has died down considerably, with acts like Jex Thoth and Sabbath Assembly going quiet. This new world order awaits Castle as they finally return with a fresh album. Will the long absence make my rusty heart grow fonder for Castle, or will Evil Remains fall victim to the insidious Law of Diminishing Recordings?
As opener “Queen of Death” kicked off I got a warm, nostalgic feeling in the empty void where my heart should be. It’s good to hear Elizabeth Blackwell’s demonic snarls and sultry crooning again and Mat Davis’ beefy leads are still aces. It’s the same hard-rocking doom they’ve excelled at forever and the big, burly grooves are a pleasure to be crushed by. Blackwell sounds great and she’s still unmatched at changing tones to suit the moment, moving from menacing to alluring. This one could have been on In Witch Order, which means Castle aren’t fucking around here. “Nosferatu Nights” is even better— aggressive and dark but chock full of hooks that pierce the flesh. Mat Davis shines brightly with some filthy, very Wino-esque playing and Elizabeth sings her witchy heart out. “Deja Voodoo” is also pure fire and one of the better songs in the Castle stable, fully leveraging the band’s strengths on a very good piece of mood-drenched writing. Elizabeth owns this song completely with her necromantic exhortations and the riffs are just the right amount of damn-nasty.
Evil Remains is a consistently spry album. “Black Spell” is almost NWoBHM in style, upbeat and urgent with Judas Priest-adjacent riffage, but it manages to keep the occult doom aesthetic intact. “She” is a badass song crackling with inky, doomy magik. The guitar playing speaks to the olden days of American doom but the hard rocking energy forces it into more vigorous, shambling action. A few songs feel less mighty, but none are bad or skip-worthy and the album’s tight 37-plus minute runtime is very easy to digest. Everything flows well and the energy levels are kept in that sweet spot between doom and rock to prevent your eyes from glazing over.
There are traces of Pentagram, The Obsessed, and Saint Vitus in the DNA of Mat Davis’ guitar work, and I hear a lot of Wino in his phrasing along with a deep love of 70s rock. He’s always been great at channeling the ghosts of doom’s past and shocking them with extra power and he does it again across the album. He’s especially good at locking into weighty grooves only to depart to hit a righteous solo or colorful flourish. Elizabeth Blackwell has always been one of my favorite metal vocalists and she’s on her game here. Her ability to chill the soul one moment and enchant the next has always been the biggest piece of the Castle puzzle and she’s lost none of her power. She gives it her all on “Nosferatu Nights” and “Deja Voodoo” and I can’t imagine anyone else doing it better. In the end, Davis and Blackwell demonstrate yet again that their stripped-down take on doom rock is a winning one and that I’m still a sucker for it.
It seems my days in the occult doom bubble are not over thanks to Castle. Evil Remains features everything I love about their sound and offers a collection of punchy songs with enough weight to convince. It’s good to hear Castle alive and well and I hope they can keep the wicked times rolling. Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Hammerheart
Websites: castlesf.bandcamp.com | heavycastle.com | facebook.com/castlesf
Releases Worldwide: September 6th, 2024
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