Review: Comets Ov Cupid - 'Seraphim' (released November 11, 2020)

Jason Kesselring returns with his Comets Ov Cupid project and this tasty little EP, released last year on the intriguing Civic Duty Records label. There are two tracks the 6-minute title track and the 9 1/2-minute Vampire's Castle.

How to broadly describe this? Imagine your favourite heavy metal band as, well, metal. Now imagine that someone has melted that metal down into a gloppy, molten mess and you may get an idea. The music's not rhythmless, but the real focus here is on shaping raw, electric noise into something meaningful, something transcendent even. You may think, uh, that sounds hard to listen to, and yes, it is not for everyone. It’s harsh, it’s intense. To some it may sound like meaningless noise, but to other more discerning ears, it’s far more nuanced than you might expect. Vampire’s Castle, especially, treads the mysterious spaces between ambient drone, noise rock and something else not quite defined. If this is an interpretation of a vampire’s castle, it’s a space vampire, or a psychic vampire, dwelling in a castle of the mind. While this isn’t music heavy on drums or percussion, it still finds rhythm on a grander scale. It writhes and pulses like a serpent, seducing you until you look into its endless eyes and then you are lost. At least, until the song is over! Maybe beyond that?

This one’s a name your price download, which you can also stream on Bandcamp, so check it out. You have nothing to lose but your mind!

For more info, visit: https://civicdutyhandshake.bandcamp.com/album/seraphim

For more Comets Ov Cupid, visit: https://cometsovcupid.bandcamp.com/