By Gruesome Greg
Having reviewed the first version of Earth’s Angels… about a year ago, I figured I had a pretty good idea of what to expect from the sequel. Again, we have but five tracks ranging from eight-and-a-half to thirteen-and-a-half minutes in length, aside from the abbreviated opener, “Sigil of Brass” which opens things on a clean, melodic, yet somewhat sombre note, due in part to the melancholic cello playing. Y’know, this is probably the first time in about a year I’ve written about “melancholic cello playing” in a music review…
“His Teeth Did Brightly Shine” opens on a lighter note, a guitar-driven number with clean, crisp, airy tones. This one’s certainly not going anywhere fast—or slow, for that matter, just meandering in the breeze…
“Waltz (A Multiplicity of Doors)” offers a bit more of that downtuned despondency that you’d expect from Earth, a slow, shuffling drum beat underlining the sombre interplay between cello and guitar. At 13:27, the longest song on here brings me back to the first installment of the series.
“The Corascene Dog” also features lovely interplay between Dylan Carson’s guitar and the string section, in a similar vein as its predecessor, albeit lighter and more atmospheric, not nearly as depressing.
“The Rakehell” puts an end to the proceedings, not nearly the lengthy epic that concluded the first album—but at twelve+ minutes, it’s not a short song, either. This one, again, is more guitar driven, a mellow number that you could play as background music at some café on a chic boulevard somewhere…
Alas, I’m not sure that this record is all that different from Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light I, but I’m not quite feeling this one as much. I shall have to revisit the original, perhaps.
(Southern Lord)
RATING: 7.5
