Formed back in 2001 by the duo Dagfari Wartooth and Sceot
Acwealde, Bretwaldas Of Heathen Doom is
one of those British underground curiosities that refuse to fade into
obscurity. They emerged from the shadows of the West Midlands with a sound
drenched in ancient folklore, battle smoke, and ale-soaked pagan spirit. Their
music stands somewhere between the primal heaviness of Amebix
and the cosmic grit of Hawkwind,
merging raw doom metal with rough-edged storytelling. “Seven Bloodied
Ramparts,” first released in 2010 and now finally pressed on vinyl by Caligari Records, remains their most defining
work, a strange and stubborn monument to rustic heaviness and weird English
heritage.
This album
doesn’t rush to impress. It trudges, stumbles, and sways like an armored drunk
at dawn, its riffs thick with earth and age. The production is dry and honest, no
gloss, no trickery, just guitars that rumble like stone wheels and drums that
sound as if recorded in a damp barn. Vocals come in rough chants and
half-growled verses, and that’s where the charm lies. There’s a sense of old
soil under the fingernails, a spirit of forgotten fields and rain-worn ruins.
It’s easy
to see why this release gained cult status. It’s simple and strange in equal
measure, too stubborn to die and too personal to imitate. The new mastering
brings a bit more depth without taming the rough spirit that defines it.
Listening to it today, it still sounds out of step with everything else, a
dusty, unshaven artifact from a corner of British metal that refuses to clean
itself up. Not for everyone but for those drawn to the ancient, muddy, and
oddly poetic corners of heavy metal, “Seven Bloodied Ramparts” is a curious and
stubbornly alive piece of history.
Score: 6.0
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