Dominion Caligula - A New Era Rises

riseagainstrocks · 01-26-2017, 08:31 AM

Dominion Caligula - Metal Archives

[I wrote the following review in the summer of 2015, Praise Thy Victorious came up on shuffle this morning and here we are - short version, doom/death n' roll/melodic death metal band made up of black metal musicians and drawing inspiration from one history's most insane tyrants. Creepy, catchy, quality.]

Despite being 80% Dark Funeral alumni, Dominion Caligula are quite the departure from their black metal roots. Inspired by the hedonistic excess of the notorious Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, popularly known as Caligula, this Swedish quintet has delivered a fantastic one-off album, made more impressive by its composers’ usual fare.

While Metal-Archives categorizes A New Era Rises as melodic death metal, the record has more in common with doom and death ‘n’ roll than the dulcet tones of ‘melodeath’. That’s not to say there aren’t melodic passages, and the music is hardly characterized by the angular, inverted riffing of black metal, but Dominion Caligula’s sound is more demonic groove than slick lead.

What can’t be said about the guitar in A New Era Rises? Rare is the album that maintains its quality while playing with the very notion of consistency throughout. Each song carves its identity on the listener with a rusty pilum. As mentioned earlier, the tag of melodic death metal, while not wholly inaccurate, is misleading. Tremolo and palm-muting abound, but there is a doomy miasma permeating the affair. “Let Them Hate Me” has a solo break that wouldn’t sound out of place on a progressive rock album and “Drink The Royal Seed” opens with synth riffing and haunting female voices before exploding in melancholic fury. Showcasing a plurality of ideas, A New Era Rises is hard to pin down, but the extremely competent riffing feels continually relevant, in spite of the disparate influences.

Aside from the rolling riffs of Matti Mäkelä and Lars Johansson, the most noticeable element in Dominion Caligula’s sound is the vocals from the Emperor Magus Caligula himself (performing under his given name, Masse Broberg). Broberg’s dry screech lends an air of menace to the already dark proceedings, summoning the Furies to drag the listener deeper into Caligula’s regal depravity. “In Love With the Gods” provides numerous examples of both his low and high vocals, all containing the pernicious hollow tone he’s known for. Rounding out the instruments, the bass and drums are admirably handled, but nothing too shocking or impressive is displayed; instead, the focus is on the degenerate vocals and twisting riffs.

At the time of this review, A New Era Rises has been out for nearly 15 years, yet it feels surprisingly fresh. Spinning a near indecipherable narrative of debauchery, murder, incestuous obsession, and apotheosis denied, Dominion Caligula have created a timeless record. Capturing the insanity of Rome’s most infamous emperor in a concise 45 minutes and traveling through a variety of styles, A New Era Rises is one of metal’s best kept secrets. Just listen to “Dominion” and try to pretend you aren’t impressed. Liars are thrown to the lions – sans gladius.

01-26-2017, 08:31 AM	#1 (permalink)
riseagainstrocks Music Addict Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: DC Posts: 3,320	Dominion Caligula - A New Era Rises Dominion Caligula - Metal Archives [I wrote the following review in the summer of 2015, Praise Thy Victorious came up on shuffle this morning and here we are - short version, doom/death n' roll/melodic death metal band made up of black metal musicians and drawing inspiration from one history's most insane tyrants. Creepy, catchy, quality.] Despite being 80% Dark Funeral alumni, Dominion Caligula are quite the departure from their black metal roots. Inspired by the hedonistic excess of the notorious Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, popularly known as Caligula, this Swedish quintet has delivered a fantastic one-off album, made more impressive by its composers’ usual fare. While Metal-Archives categorizes A New Era Rises as melodic death metal, the record has more in common with doom and death ‘n’ roll than the dulcet tones of ‘melodeath’. That’s not to say there aren’t melodic passages, and the music is hardly characterized by the angular, inverted riffing of black metal, but Dominion Caligula’s sound is more demonic groove than slick lead. What can’t be said about the guitar in A New Era Rises? Rare is the album that maintains its quality while playing with the very notion of consistency throughout. Each song carves its identity on the listener with a rusty pilum. As mentioned earlier, the tag of melodic death metal, while not wholly inaccurate, is misleading. Tremolo and palm-muting abound, but there is a doomy miasma permeating the affair. “Let Them Hate Me” has a solo break that wouldn’t sound out of place on a progressive rock album and “Drink The Royal Seed” opens with synth riffing and haunting female voices before exploding in melancholic fury. Showcasing a plurality of ideas, A New Era Rises is hard to pin down, but the extremely competent riffing feels continually relevant, in spite of the disparate influences. Aside from the rolling riffs of Matti Mäkelä and Lars Johansson, the most noticeable element in Dominion Caligula’s sound is the vocals from the Emperor Magus Caligula himself (performing under his given name, Masse Broberg). Broberg’s dry screech lends an air of menace to the already dark proceedings, summoning the Furies to drag the listener deeper into Caligula’s regal depravity. “In Love With the Gods” provides numerous examples of both his low and high vocals, all containing the pernicious hollow tone he’s known for. Rounding out the instruments, the bass and drums are admirably handled, but nothing too shocking or impressive is displayed; instead, the focus is on the degenerate vocals and twisting riffs. At the time of this review, A New Era Rises has been out for nearly 15 years, yet it feels surprisingly fresh. Spinning a near indecipherable narrative of debauchery, murder, incestuous obsession, and apotheosis denied, Dominion Caligula have created a timeless record. Capturing the insanity of Rome’s most infamous emperor in a concise 45 minutes and traveling through a variety of styles, A New Era Rises is one of metal’s best kept secrets. Just listen to “Dominion” and try to pretend you aren’t impressed. Liars are thrown to the lions – sans gladius. __________________ One note timeless, came out of nowhere...