CARDINAL WYRM · Cast Away Souls | BLACK LP

Black vinyl in gatefold sleeve. Includes a booklet of full-color artwork by Kim Holm.

Background information about ''

When a band cites both the crushing weight of doom and the eerie, hypnotic pull of the avant-garde as their guiding lights, you know you're in for something special. Cardinal Wyrm have been quietly carving out their own strange and beautiful corner of the metal underground for years, and Cast Away Souls feels like the moment it all clicks into place with breathtaking force. Following up 2015's Black Hole Gods — a record that already had critics scrambling for superlatives — the California trio return with a work that's denser, more ambitious, and utterly spellbinding from the first thunderous riff to the last ghostly echo.

What makes Cast Away Souls such a riveting listen is the way it refuses to sit still. Guitarist Nathan Verrill and vocalist/drummer Pranjal Tiwari have always had a knack for twisting doom metal into unexpected shapes, but here they're joined by Leila Abdul-Rauf (Vastum, Hammers of Misfortune, ex-Amber Asylum), whose presence adds an entirely new dimension. Her ethereal vocals and multi-instrumental prowess weave through these six epic tracks like smoke through ancient ruins, lending the whole affair a theatrical, almost ritualistic quality. The riffs are massive — the kind that rattle your ribcage and make you remember why you fell in love with heavy music in the first place — but there's also a delicate, psychedelic undercurrent that keeps pulling you deeper. Kim Holm's stunning gatefold artwork and booklet serve as the only map you'll get on this journey, and trust me, you won't want one. From the ominous opening moments to the final, resounding bell, Cast Away Souls is the sound of a band operating at the peak of their powers, drifting through dimensions both within and far beyond our own.

For fans of:
YOB, Vastum, Hammers of Misfortune, SubRosa, Pallbearer

Other Versions

PURPLE/GOLD LP · Sold out DIGIPAK CD · Sold out

Track listing

A1. Silver Eminence
A2. The Resonant Dead
A3. Grave Passage
B1. Lost Orison
B2. Soul Devouring Fog
B3. After The Dry Years

Manufacturer: Oy Svart Musik Ab, Saippua Center, Ruissalontie 12C, laituri O, 20200 Turku, Finland, Contact: www.svartrecords.com