Cistvaen is a Doom-laden Atmospheric Black Metal band from the United Kingdom. April 5th, 2024 independently released their debut studio album At Light’s Demise. Includes seven bleakness and desperation songs that would gratify fans of Agalloch, Alcest, Wolves in the Throne Room, Winterfylleth, and My Dying Bride.
Introduction:
Cistvaen, At Light’s Demise: This review will evaluate every aspect of the album, from its intricate musical composition to its production. Our analysis will provide valuable insights to help you determine if this album is worth adding to your collection.
The First Three Sins of At Light’s Demise
Let’s start by discussing the first three sins of Cistvaen and their album, At Light’s Demise.
The First Sin, The Strings/Keys: Guitar work that displays a perfect blend of melancholic melodies soaring over tremolo-picked riffs. The complex bass lines intricately weave in and out of the compositions, adding depth and richness to the music. The Second Sin, The Vocals: Deep guttural growls and harsh, desperate cries that further enhance the sense of bleakness and despair. The Third Sin—The Percussions: Drum work, includes beats, fills, and strikes, blast-beats, that are skilfully executed to create an intense musical experience.
The Fourth Sin: Overall Discussion: Thematic & lyrical inspiration from the bleak landscapes of Dartmoor
As soon as the listener presses the play button, the opening piece, At Light’s Demise, greets the listener’s ears with this captivating fruit of art journey that draws inspiration from the bleak landscapes of Dartmoor. Lyrics exploring various themes, including mental health and depression, supply a thought-provoking experience for the listener, until one’s ending journey of the closing track, The Blind Observer.
At Light’s Demise runs for fifty-eight minutes and offers the listener an artistic fruit of art, with lengthy, bleak, depressed, and epic songs. I suggest the listener continuously journeys through each song to experience the album’s dark beauty fully. I recommend you do not skip the songs.
Again, At Light’s Demise is a fruit of art with flawless execution of the music, songs, instruments, production, sound, and composition, delivered by this professional fruit of art devilmanship talent.
The musical spectrum of At Light’s Demise, where the listener will find the instruments and music composition arrangement, is perfectly sewn together. At Light’s Demise is a captivating musical journey–a beautiful amalgamation of diverse tones, moods, tempos, and atmospheres that seamlessly blend to create a mesmerizing auditory experience.
Throughout the piece, pristine and perfectly timed guitar passages add to the overall atmosphere and supply a much-needed respite from the otherwise unrelenting intensity.
The vocals are equally impressive, as well as the intricate composition of the drums. The listener will hear the addition of dark, haunting keys, acoustic guitar, and spoken words that add to the piece’s overall atmosphere.
At Light’s Demise takes its influences from the Wolves In The Throne Room’s dreamy and melancholic atmosphere with the epic grandeur of Winterfylleth and the melancholy beauty of My Dying Bride. Agalloch’s dark folk influences lend an enchanting touch to the piece, while Alcest‘s post-black influences add complexity and depth. As a result, it is a hauntingly beautiful and sorrowful work of art that captures the essence of all these diverse musical styles.
Cistvaen presents a captivating blend of black and doom metal with an intriguing atmospheric quality. If you are a fan of these musical genres, exploring this band’s repertoire would be worth your while.
The album comes to an end with the last song, The Blind Observer. We want to give a shoutout to Cistvaen for letting us review their At Light’s Demise album. Now, we’re going to wrap it up by talking about the final three sins and concluding the review.
You’re Listening to “Cassation Of Hope”
PlayThe last Three Sins
Let’s discuss the last three sins, our thoughts on Cistvaen and their album, At Light’s Demise.
The Fifth Sin, The Memorabilia: Is that for us, Cistvaen‘s musical spectrum presented in this release is breathtaking, offering a dark, haunting, sorrowful, and epic experience that is both powerful and mesmerizing.
While their music may be melancholy and depressive, one thing is sure: Whether you are sipping a drink or taking a relaxing bath, Cistvaen’s music can supply a soothing background to your downtime. Or turn up the volume and let the haunting melodies and dark atmosphere wash away your stress.
We highly recommend listening to Cistvaen.
The Sixth Sin, The Artwork:
The image for the front cover was created by Lucian Nedela-Artworks. I must say that the choice of this artwork was impeccable as it perfectly complements and harmonizes with the band’s music, evokes the right atmosphere, and captures the sad and bleak terrain of Dartmoor.
The Seventh Sin, Disrelish:
Nothing to disrelish within the musical spectrum of Cistvaen, and their album At Light’s Demise.
This concludes the Cistvaen, At Light’s Demise review.
Track-Listing:
- At Light’s Demise
- Cessation Of Hope
- The Epitaph
- Time The Mournful
- Bleak House
- Silver Birch
- The Blind Observer
Cistvaen is:
- Lee Meade – guitars
- Ed Wilcox – drums
- Mark Sanders – guitars
- James Mardon – bass
- Guy Taylor – vocals
