ninehertz

Dark Castle are one of only a handful of bands who I've been genuinely excited about having contacted me through myspace - this may sound a bit cynical but lets face it, myspace is the proverbial (dung filled) haystack in which we are expected to find a needle.

This particular two piece needle (she do guitar, he do drums, both do vocals) hail from good old Florida and mark themselves as sounding like Neurosis, Om, King Crimson and Rainbow (oh yes!!) which isn't far wrong. Mixing some quite epic and delay ridden sounds and styles while all the time coming across still crushingly heavy. It may be a lazy comparison but Kylesa's Laura Pleasants comes to mind when thinking of who they sound like vocally throughout the five tracks on display .

Thrown into the extensive melting pot are brief periods of calm with some cool Spanish guitar work and some lovely sung vocals (the dogs of doom are howling more) that serve to not only provide respite and emphasise the heavier moments but also demonstrate that these are no one trick pony (no pun intended).

Plus, with this being a self released CD it's packaged all cool too. Thick card, gaffa tape, spray paint, Velcro and some pretty awesome artwork all combine to make this one of the most promising and interesting releases of the year.