October Burns Black – Fault Line

October Burns Black – Fault Line
(Outland Media)

Reviewed by Ambient Light.

October Burns Black’s pedigree alone opens the window directly onto what to expect from their debut EP, ‘Fault Line’. Conceived and founded by James Tramel, bassist from US goth rock stalwarts The Wake (1986-present), the remaining cast of OBB comprises vocalist Ger Egan, guitarists Lars Kappeler and Tommy Olsson, and guest drummer Simon Rippin. Ger Egan is best known for fronting Irish ethereal goth rock outfit This Burning Effigy (1993-2001, who also featured Stephen Carey of The Eden House renown). Lars Kappeler has played with a horde of German goth rock bands (and a couple of metal outfits) stemming back to the nineties, often on bass, and most notably with Sweet Ermengarde (2011-present). Tommy Olsson of Norwegian gothic metal band Theatre of Tragedy (1993-2010) likewise has a much longer list of other bands, projects and releases under his belt, and any UK goth enthusiast will know that Simon Rippin’s credits include The Eden House, The Nefilim/Fields of the Nephilim, Red Sun Revival, Grooving in Green and innumerable others.

The project’s manager, promoter and soothsayer, Ed Shorrock, is said to reside upon some mythic isle in a netherworld betwixt Albion and Avalon, still troubled by the restless spirits of ancient Goths, Gaels and Gauls. Shorrock’s unrelenting merchandising and prophesying campaign has steadily transformed the mere notion of October Burns Black into arguably the most anticipated goth rock release of 2018. It was perhaps inevitable, then, that the initial 4-song offering from what is surely the world’s first truly intercontinental gothic rock supergroup was destined to be overhyped, if only because nothing short of a full-length album could have realised the sheer magnitude and potential of those incumbent expectations. Consequently, ‘Fault Line’ doesn’t so much deliver on every latent promise underpinning Tramel and Shorrock’s vision for the group, as it does wipe away any residue of doubt that OBB can and will do so, given time.

As a brief introduction, however, the EP certainly does is what it says on the tin. The sound is firmly rooted in what has long been termed the “second wave” of gothic rock, pioneered during the mid-late eighties by The Sisters of Mercy, The Mission and Fields of the Nephilim, and spawning a great inky black ejaculation of bands cut from the same dusky sackcloth throughout the nineties and beyond. While few have been able to carry that torch forward convincingly into the present, of those that did, an alarmingly high proportion have contributed their DNA to October Burns Black.

Opening track ‘With You’ lands dead centre in the space between Wayne Hussey-era Sisters of Mercy and some of The Mission’s early singles; Ger Egan’s delivery even sounding closely styled after Hussey in places. It’s too easy to fault this for being a safe, generic and predictable sort of a track to open an EP like this with, but very well executed, and not difficult to imagine it filling up dancefloors dedicated to that sort of thing. “T-T-Twisting on the floor / Like never before” is the best goth rock hookline in eons; percussive vocals and sharp, bright snares in perfect sync make it irresistibly novel, catchy good fun, and again, ‘With You’ sounds exactly like what October Burns Black has been promising all along – dyed in the wool Gothic Rock with a capital G. ‘Shimmer’ carries on along the Sisters/Mission trajectory, but with flickering guitars and metronomic toms ransacking the rhythmic pulse of Pink Floyd, albeit Floyd by way of the Nephilim.

It’s immediately obvious why ‘Arrowhead’ has been the lead promo single circulating ahead of the EP’s release, and its impact is diminished only a little by having been around a while. Simon Rippin’s drumming is a definitive highlight, alternating between near-frenetic (and yet remarkably precise) toms during the hooks and a comparatively mechanical back-beat underpinning Tramel’s solid, propulsive bassline. Guitars contrast otherworldly iridescence with more rustic, earthy tones, while everything converges around another of the strongest vocal hooks on the EP. With ‘Arrowhead’, October Burns Black probably achieve the best of both worlds; remaining true to the purest spirit of the tradition to which they and their fans are so firmly and admirably devoted, while also producing a song with an identity and a life of its own.

Closing number ‘Light on Light’ initially slows things down to a brooding mid-tempo, but soon builds in intensity to busier moments, going on to serve up the most dynamic range from one moment to the next. Those frequent contrasts also afford James Tramel’s bass a few moments in the spotlight (albeit a spotlight surrounded by smoke and strobes), compared with the often-understated supporting role he’s relegated himself to, in service to the songs. There’s a lot going on in ‘Light on Light’, and it’s not always easy to discern any one clearly focused direction, but that also makes for one of the more refreshingly unpredictable tracks on the EP.

Two pieces of advice before listening to this record:

1. Ignore the merch, the slogans, the marketing gimmicks. If there’s one major gripe surrounding this act, it’s that they’ve produced more merchandise than music to date. And without so much as batting an eyelid, that even extends to merch promising “no gimmicks” as one of its advertising slogans. Being generous, one can only hope that’s an intentionally ironic attempt at self-parody.

2. Pay no attention to press blurbs characterising the band’s sound as “a nod to the past but with a distinctly forward-looking direction”, which is nothing short of apologist dribble. There’s a lot more than mere hat-tipping going on where these gents are concerned, and while the production values and sound quality are perfectly current, nobody’s trying to push any musical envelopes across the cutting edge of progressivism.

So, just push those misgivings to one side and listen to ‘Fault Line’ at face value, for what it is. Fans don’t come to bands in this genre with the expectation that they’re about to revolutionise modern music. The truth is, Tramel and friends have put their collective heart and soul into creating a bloody good record in a style that they know and love, made by diehard gothic rockers for other diehard gothic rockers. Composed, executed, produced and (indeed) marketed with unfaltering passion and commitment, ‘Fault Line’ is a singular act of devotion to those roots. Anyone else who knows and loves that style would have to be a po-faced git not to admire it.

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