Moon – Caduceus Chalice

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If there is indeed a rawness war on in the black metal underground, Moon have won it with Caduceus Chalice. That’s hardly a good thing in and of itself. While bands like Satanic Warmaster and Obscure Lupine Quietus have taken the super lo-fi route to churn out a handful of minor classics, this Australian one-man act have created an album only conceivable as the result of setting up a dictaphone in a room, playing some third-rate Burzum riffs through heavy distortion, and releasing the result unedited. Indeed, Caduceus Chalice originated in 2010 as a limited cassette-only release, and it’s quite clear that no touch-ups have been made for the CD edition. The only near-highlight is album closer Chalice, which has several good ideas but stretches them to their limits in the form of an 18-minute track, which would be grating even if the production were decent. There’s something to be said for well-executed raw rumble – as early as Hellhammer‘s demos it was molding the black metal genre – but Moon simply doesn’t do it in an interesting enough manner to make for essential listening.

Written by Brad Sanders
More: 2010, Albums, Black Metal, Quick.Play Reviews, Moon