Review
A Death Cinematic
The New World

When you anticipate things, do you find that you build up these lofty expectations that are virtually impossible to reach; or is the anticipation more often than not a good quality that leads to a build up of excitement?

Anticipation (for me) is often a double edged sword that may do any combination of building up expectations and or excitement, and this anticipation manifests itself in strange ways, all of which further feed my obsessions and addictions; The New World from A Death Cinematic showed up in my mailbox a while ago and seriously just shook my resolve to the core regardless of what was built up in my mind, and the idea that the sheer amount of creativity that went into this release is rather astounding in terms of the physical packaging (since I saw this first before actually hearing anything on the disc). Holding The New World in my hands and slowly peeling back the layers of the packaging like you might those of an onion, any hints of anticipation or expectation or even excitement were completely voided by the profound awe that I was struck with in looking at the different parts of the artwork and handmade receptacle for the CD; anyone with a brain should see the care and imagination and skill that is necessary to even devise such a beautiful physical vessel for the sounds that it houses, and with the pieces spread out in front of me, I press play on my stereo not knowing completely exactly what would come next.

While I have always considered A Death Cinematic to have (in some ways) cornered the market on the soundtrack to some future post apocalyptic time period, there has also been this underlying melancholy that lurks in the depths of the compositions; but with The New World, the sounds show that this melancholy has drifted to the fore of the music almost as if there is a grim resignation to the fate of the fictitious populace of A Death Cinematic’s universe. The noise elements (see “Sparrows Circle The Distance From The Gallows To The Sun”) that are present on this album bring a new color and depth to the oeuvre of A Death Cinematic as does the bottleneck guitar (most prominent in “Our Sorrows Pile Up In The Night’s Lament”), but these new parts of the palette are not simply thrown into the mix but rather sound and feel as if their placement is purposeful and integral to the mood of the piece whether it just be to integrate into the song (as in the title track) or purposefully break it up (like in “As The Lights Fissure The Night Skies, Our Eyes Grow Pale At The Horrors Beheld”); the spoken word part of “The New World” sounds like depression and the music built up around the hollow sounding words fit the tenor of the man’s voice perfectly, and the idea that this whole album sprung up from this small spoken word section is rather mind blowing.


The New World is a shining example of why physical music releases will never completely go away because, besides the amount of care and dedication necessary to achieve such an impressive physical specimen, such an incredible handmade work is more like tactile component of the music that is a necessary part of the artist’s vision; also, such packaging begs people to purchase The New World simply to experience the release first hand.