Band:	Cloak Of Altering
Album:	Plague Beasts
Style:	Avantgarde black metal
Release date:	April 29, 2014
A review by:	X-Ray Rod

01. Plague Beasts
02. White Inverted Void
03. Translucent Body Deformities
04. Chaos Magician Of The Abyss
05. Ash666ura
06. Into Celestial Hell
07. Altering Forever

As some of you know, I'm a shameless "Mories" fanboy. I always end up having huge expectations for all his new releases and the latest Cloak Of Altering was not an exception. The previous album, Ancient Paths Through Timeless Voids, as well as the NONE EP were turning points for this project as it showed a different side of Mories' works in which electronic elements where heavily used. It seems like Cloak Of Altering got a solid identity and could easily be separated from the rest of his projects. So how does Plague Beasts compare? Is it better or worse? Nah, it's just a bit different.

Cloak Of Altering started as an unusually melodic project by a guy whose main characteristic is being noisy and chaotic as all hell. With new releases, the electronic touches began to appear. Showing a more accessible and mellow vibe (for Mories that is) but keeping a few bursts of dissonant madness here and there. Plague Beasts acts as an obvious step as more electronic and industrial influences are thrown into the mix. This makes it more balanced in terms of combining black metal and electronics. Is it more accessible because of that? Hell no. This is in fact Cloak Of Altering's most oppressive album. It's a colossal mechanical beast.

Right from the start, a change has been noticed. The tempos are more insane than what was displayed on the previous album. The beats are out of control and faster paces dominate this time. Only the melodic synths in the background serve as a last resort in order to stay afloat during the waves of chaos. The vocals remained in classic Mories fashion with high-pitched shrieks combined with disturbingly deep growls.

Another notable change is the production. Plague Beasts has a far more muddy sound and it's more bass-oriented. To be honest, I'd prefer the production to be just a little bit brighter as it'd make some of the hidden melodies more palpable.

On a more personal note, I'm far from disappointed, yet it probably stands as my least favorite Mories work under the Cloak Of Altering name. It's an extremely satisfying listening but it simply doesn't leave me in awe as I'm used to be from his work. But please, don't let this silly nitpicking fool you; Plague Beasts remains one of the highlights of this year in terms of black metal's more out-there projects. Embrace the chaos !!