Thy Emptiness - Crowned Under Cascade Rain
The Superchi brothers (Jake and Nick, aka The Witcher and OldNick) are back again, but this time under the name of Thy Emptiness. Instead of the Symphonic Black Metal style that they usually write with their main band, Ceremonial Castings, they’ve decided to do something in the Doom/Death Metal direction, hence the different name they’re employing, and the cover of My Dying Bride’s “For You.” Truthfully, though, this isn’t so much Doom/Death Metal as it is Black Metal with Doom/Death Metal influences. Thy Emptiness is actually closer to Dimmu Borgir than it is to anything in the Doom/Death Metal vein. All of the songs on Crowned Under Cascade Rain could easily pass for something on a Ceremonial Castings LP, mostly due to the overpowering keyboard presence. Everything here is a bit slower and heavier than the usual Ceremonial Castings fare, but ultimately, Thy Emptiness isn’t different enough to have an identity of its own. The main reasons for this, I think, are the over-reliance on keyboards when creating melody and atmosphere, and the lack of heaviness in the guitars, which are very thin, and that’s a bad thing in the Doom/Death genre. They needed to be punishingly heavy and more prominent, and the fact that they aren’t seriously hurts. The main things Thy Emptiness needs to work on is getting the guitars in there and stop relying on the keyboards so much. Keyboards might be the most important element in Ceremonial Castings, but they don’t translate as well to a genre that is primarily driven by guitars like Doom/Death Metal is. These are, however, mainly production issues that could be worked out for the band’s next release. So, while the songs don’t suck, I think this might appeal more to fans of Gothic Metal or Black Metal. It just doesn’t have that underlying heaviness that fans of My Dying Bride are looking for.
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