LACHRYMOSE MONUMENTS OF OBSCURATION [VINYL]

On the precipice of their third decade, Hooded Menace stand not as a bridge but the pillar between two distinct realms of underground metal. The band’s seventh album is still rooted in cultish obsession with classic horrors. But with Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration, these stewards of death-doom remain far from stuck in their ways. The Knights Templar still stand watch over Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration. “Pale Masquerade” summons film director Amando de Ossorio’s flesh-eating muse with a fresh heap of bone-crunching chugs and death growls that reek of the tomb. While the lasting influence of Candlemass and Paradise Lost hasn’t vanished without a ghostly trace, Hooded Menace continues to break the mold. Old school heshers will headbang with delight upon hearing a pop gem like “Save a Prayer” splattered with the band’s signature blood-soaked dread. Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration hammers home the ‘80s heavy metal influence that Hooded Menace rung in on The Tritonus Bell. As if from a trance, drums snap into a gallop amidst blistering leads drip with neon. MicroPitching and other effects aren’t the only tricks pulled out from under the band’s cloak, either. What should appear from the double bass swirling beneath lead single “Portrait Without a Face” but the deeply haunting moan of a cello. With Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration, Hooded Menace cast death-doom in a ghostly new light.