Lovingly pinched from Brainwashed.com: Based upon their childlike and almost self parodyingly reductionist name and rather Dungeons and Dragons inspired cover art, I expected Dark Castle to either be unintentionally hilarious or the most abrasive, evil, soul withering doom metal band I have ever heard. Much to my surprise, they were neither. This male / female doom psych duo has crafted an impressive, assured, and surprisingly melodic debut.

Florida’s Dark Castle first appeared in 2008 with an elaborately packaged self-released demo (Flight of the Pegasus) that garned a good deal of favorable attention from the metal press and other bands (including Relapse Records’ Minsk). It is easy to see why this unsigned band turned so many heads, as there are several obvious elements that separate them from their peers.

For one, drummer Rob Shaffer is also the vocalist. Secondly, most of the guitar work is handled by a woman (Stevie Floyd), which is extremely rare in the extreme metal milieu. Finally, there is no bass, which is strikingly ballsy in a genre that is so intimately associated with low-frequency amplifier worship (also, they are not sludgy or dull)

Continue reading: Brainwashed – Dark Castle, “Spirited Migration”.