REVIEW | DESOLATE TOMB | FULL LENGTH ALBUM | CAST FROM GOD’S SIGHT | 2019
Good day, everyone. Today I have gotten a hold of what is just one of the tastiest albums I’ve heard yet in Christian deathcore. I present to you a review of Oklahoma’s very own Desolate Tomb, a solo project created by Dakota Whiteside. Dakota was able to provide some insight on what this album, Cast from God’s Sight, is about and what inspired it. Check out the following below:
“It is an album based on the epic poem ‘Paradise Lost’ by John Milton. To give you a summary of the poem if you haven’t read it, the poem starts off with the fall of Lucifer from Heaven and then how he desires to take revenge against God. While gathering his own armies on earth, God creates a new being, humans. He grants them power over all the earth and its animals, plants, etc. Lucifer sees this and is enraged, and thus begins devising a plan to turn mankind against God. Lucifer visits the garden and discovers that God has forbidden Adam and Eve to eat of the Tree of Knowledge, and, he tricks them into eating of the tree. The poem (and this album) ends with God banishing Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and bestowing the curses on each of them and on Lucifer. The album and poem take the first three chapters of Genesis and stretches them into a detailed, epic story.”
Another thing to note is that Dakota did say that to understand this album you had to listen to it in order due to it being a concept album. I did just that. Cast from God’s Sight is quite the marvelous spectacle. However, let’s go ahead and approach this piece by piece. Let’s start with the mix. This being a solo project, and from what I understood, is the debut album, means that there a lot of noticeable mishaps could have taken place that could lessen the quality of the track. I will say that for this album, it’s solid. Will I say it’s at a higher up level, like in comparison to bands working in labels and such, possibly. But, on its own and for what it is, it’s not bad at all. It feels good to listen to Cast from God’s Sight because it’s a DIY gone right. I feel there are sometimes where the instrumentals overpower the vocals a bit, but not enough to stop me from enjoying any of the tracks. That also being said, we can jump into the vocals as well as the instrumental work.
Now, for this section, we will start with vocals. The vocals, as their own entity, have a good tone that sounds very solid. I will say that the range demonstrated could be furthered a bit, however, I will say it’s still a solid, fun listen. Very beefy, if I do say so myself. The features on this album also sounded fantastic. As I said previously, the only thing I have an issue with is that in some cases the tracks were a bit quiet, but not enough to take the enjoyment away from the track. I can see Dakota’s vocal work causing him to be more well known within the deathcore community and present more opportunities outside of the local scene of Oklahoma.
Furthermore, the instrumental work sounds fluid and dominating. Captivating your ears as it carries you through each track and presenting their emotions. This mix with the vocals and the patterns and layering used with said vocals a very dynamic, yet seemingly concise, atmosphere. The only drawback on this was that in some cases the instrumentals were a bit louder than the vocals. However, again, this was nothing that took away too much from Cast from God’s Sight. Still a great listen.
Closing in, the last thing we will focus on is the lyrical content. Stated earlier in what would be considered the bio for Cast from God’s Sight, this is a concept album. That being established means that one of the bigger that will carry this album or a track, in general, is how well do the lyrics line up with the content. Do the lyrics also match the tone being met with the actual vocals, or does it feel out of place? Safe to say, there is no disappointment here. Everything checks out. The narratives created in each track, I feel, translates strongly with the atmosphere being generated. Painting a chain of events, carefully and thoroughly.
To finish this off, I see great things in the future of Desolate Tomb, and if possible, they could have the potential to be an amazing band that could play shows, if given the opportunity and the right members. Regardless, Desolate Tomb even as a solo project is incredible and has released a beautiful, intense, and radical album. Do yourselves a favor and don’t sleep on Desolate Tomb. Thank you so much to Dakota Whiteside for giving me the chance to be able to take a ride through Cast from God’s Sight. It has been a joy to listen to and will be playing on repeat when it releases and sharing it like a mad man. I will list links to social media and such as usual below as well as the single Cast from God’s Sight that premiered via Dakota’s own YouTube Channel and one from Desolate Tomb’s Bandcamp which will be included in the links below titled, First Sin I: The Serpent’s Tongue. Cast from God’s Sight releases April 19, 2019.
DESOLATE TOMB – CAST FROM GOD’S SIGHT [SINGLE] [2018]
