Album Review: Frayle – 1692 (Lay Bare Recordings/Aqualamb)

Cleveland band doom band Frayle are releasing their new album entitled 1692 on the 14th February 2020 via Lay Bare Recordings (Europe) and Aqualamb (USA).

Echoing doominess and some really sinister sounds serve as a grand introduction before the title track spreads a wonderment of bleakness out for all to experience. The feedback laden rhythm, the molasses covered tempo and soft female vocals combine to gain the attention.

Gods of No Faith introduces an even deeper and meatier guitar sound while also bringing in some nasty sounding male vocals. Before Darker Than Black proves to be one hell of an apt title and the perfect example of just how deliciously evil Frayle can sound. Although I’m not sure quite what the point of the 10-second twisted rhyme (spoken by a child) Monsters is, which sits in between those two tracks.

Enough hasn’t been said about the vocals, something that is in such contrast to the rumbling doom. The sultry approach on Dead Inside is down right eerie but so very appealing too. Burn is darkly comforting but with an underlying feeling of tension, the soft singing telling sweet lies to deliver you to oblivion.

Godless is the result of that deliverance and it’s not one to leave too much of an impression (one of the album’s few flat points). Whereas If You Stay and Stab are exceptionally strong wanders through the darkest of dark voids.

One of the more pleasing things about 1692 is that most tracks don’t go over the 5 minute mark. Doom has a habit of droning on and on (for better or worse) and it’s refreshing to get shorter variations.

Frayle – 1692 Full Track Listing:

1. Introduction (Arise)
2. 1692
3. Gods of No Faith
4. Monsters
5. Darker Than Black
6. Dead Inside
7. Burn
8. Godless
9. If You Stay
10. Stab

Links

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