Review: Carach Angren – Dance and Laugh Amongst the Rotten

The Dutch trio show no signs of changing their approach in their fifth album, as they once again craft their one-of-a-kind brand of symphonic black metal in a strict narrative mode. After the somewhat forgettable This Is No Fairytale, Carach Angren had to reinvigorate the excitement and immersive quality that was so present in their first few albums.

In terms of the stories themselves, in delivery and content, there are moments of great execution. On the first full-length track, Charlie, the apparition is summoned through the Ouija board and the conversation that the characters have with it is expressed cleverly through the music. The human characters are delivered in soft cleans, smothered by the crushing instruments, and through this mix reflects an innocent character overwhelmed by terror. The voice of the spirit however, is done through Seregor’s signature guttural vocals, and thus the ghost character’s narrative voice emanates a contrasting menace. Another story-telling highlight is in the following song Blood Queen. The entire scene of her asking the mirror to show her the future is echoed through the sonic constructions surrounding the lyrics. The music mellows as she finds out her future shows a new-born baby (the thing she yearns for), but then picks up in intensity as the mirror cracks and the story takes a sour turn. The mystery and cryptic shroud of the Pitch Black Box is also a pleasant change from the often brash and somewhat unpoetic lyrics that pop up elsewhere on the project.

But of course, as an album, the prose element is still subordinated to the quality of the music when making a final judgement. And overall, the music is good on this project. They showcase a degree of diversity on songs. Blood Queen begins with a thrash-like sound before erupting into their blackened signature and the start of In De Naam Van De Duviel has a death metal vibe with a heavy, sluggish riff. Another high-point of this album is the piano work. Moments like the opening and Pitch Black Box engineer the keys to create brewing, horror-esque atmospheres. And then on songs like Charles Francis Coghlan, the clean piano melds with the string section towards the middle to conjure a rich and epic sound. Following this part of the song, the piano is left to its own with a hazy mist of sound filling the background, and the song manages to perfectly snapshot the lone grand piano trope of the horror film. Along with impressive, evolving riff work and a very strong, memorable refrain, this song is a clear highlight. Another obvious highlight and another skillful use of the piano is in In De Naam Van De Duviel, which features one of the most haunting piano melodies the trio has ever written which is beautifully contradicted by the brutal guitars in a brilliant instrumental interlude.

Although this album succeeds in many ways, it still seems to fall short of their first three efforts. It lacks the aural variety and tight thematic consistency of Death Came Through a Phantom Ship, nor does it have the ruthless ferocity of Lammendam or the potent and powerful stories of Where the Corpses Sink Forever. And this is not to say that it should be like those three albums, but rather that those albums have a defining trait which I think Dance and Laugh lacks. It is certainly not as disposable as their previous effort, but also does not seem to carve out a distinct mark away from their strong past projects. I struggle to say, ‘this is the album where they excelled at this thing’ in any capacity.

Overall, this is an okay album with some great moments. As a fan of this group, I am not left grossly disappointed, but my excitement is beginning to wither. This is Carach Angren doing what they are capable of and doing it to a decent standard, but not much more. Perhaps, with a more refined approach to their lyricism and a fresh idea, Carach Angren can rekindle their flame of originality and do their sound justice once again.