Cloak is a good band. How’s that for the most obvious statement ever? Cloak is a very good band, especially considering that they’ve only been a unit since 2013. I know bands in the New England area that have been active for over 10 years and haven’t whiffed at a recording contract, let alone an international one. That’s why I have a bone to pick, albeit minor, with Cloak’s debut LP To Venomous Depths (Season of Mist).

Is it a bad recording? Fuck no, but’s it’s uneven. The black metal, rock, and old school heavy metal hybrids here, for the most part, stand out but could have been fleshed out further. The output of Sweden’s Tribulation comes to mind with their similar style and mood. On tracks like ‘Forever Burned’ and ‘To Venomous Depths/Where No Light Shines’ guitarists Max Brigham and Scott Tayson are ripping cranking riffs with loads of melody only to be undercut by the stale rhythms of drummer Sean Bruneau. And this is not an attack on Bruneau as I am a human blooper reel behind the skins and he shines with unexpected fills and kicks on ‘Death Posture’ and ‘Beyond the Veil.’ Yet, for his skill, it seems like he’s merely keeping time on songs that he could really elevate.

That doesn’t mean that the controlled tempos are totally out of place. ‘In the Darkness, the Path’ is a mid-pace stormer that Satyricon would be proud to pound out. And the most kvlt of all the musical instruments, the cowbell, makes an unexpected yet totally welcome appearance on ‘The Hunger.’ And since so much of Cloak’s musical heritage lies in black metal, it’s exhilarating to listen to the final minutes of ‘Deep Red’ where the boys channel frigid Norwegian blast beats and tremolo picking. I’d take an entire album of that. Yesterday.

With Bruneau fully off the leash and by shaving off about 8 to 10 minutes of runtime, To Venomous Depths would reach peak potential. Until then, it’s a good album from a band with nothing but upside.

7.0/10

HANS LOPEZ