Occultation "Silence In The Ancestral House" CD

Hailing from New York, Occultation have successfully re-imagined their influences to create an altogether captivating and refreshing approach to the heavy metal template. Not without the forbidding and eerie edge successfully cast on their critically acclaimed debut album, 2012′s Three and Seven, the three-piece consisting of E. Miller (guitars), Viveca Butler (vocals & drums), and Annu Lilja (bass) have now expanded upon the foundation built by their debut.
Honing influences from a wide and varied mix of bands such as Mercyful Fate, early Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Iron Maiden, Black Hole (Italy), and Candlemass amongst others, Silence in the Ancestral House was recorded with Kurt Balou (Converge, Beastmilk) at Godcity Studios in Salem, Massachusetts to give a broader and more refined sound to the band’s expanding aims. Having already laid down vocals on Beastmilk’s “Strange Attractors” track from their Climax debut, it was noted by Butler that Balou was perfect for getting the best out of Occultation‘s sound and also her sombre and melancholic vocal style.

New York trio OCCULTATION (featuring guitarist E.M. who also commands black metal wonder NEGATIVE PLANE) are a band that create one of the strangest yet unique sounds in dark metal today. With a distinct mix of prog, classic metal, and ‘80s dark rock/goth woven within the band’s intertwining sound picture, OCCULTATION conjure a sound so singular and bewitching that it makes the overall listening experience that much more intriguing and ultimately fascinating.
If one were to pinpoint the sound of OCCULTATION, it would be something along the lines of a wicked mix of classic Mercyful Fate, Death SS, Siouxsie And The Banshees, and The Cure. Their “Three & Seven” debut would make an impression but with their new album “Silence In The Ancestral House”, OCCULTATION have created something wholly on another musical plane.
Produced, recorded, and mixed by Kurt Ballou (CONVERGE) at Godcity Studios (and this is unlike anything Kurt Ballou has recorded ever, with the band taking him a bit out of his usual element), “Silence In The Ancestral House” is a massive and multi-layered opus where with each listen, new things will continue to reveal themselves within the sonic madness. Haunting, more dreamy and even more progressive than their debut, “Silence In The Ancestral House” is not only a more challenging offering but the band’s sense of songwriting has taken on a new level of musicality through the use of impeccable melody and counterpoint. Of course one must take note of the vocals of V.B., this time more bewitching and defined, her sense of beckoning even more seductive and alluring.

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