Cloak of Altering – Manifestation

And what it manifests is fear.

There is a certain level of horrific repugnance that’s associated with metal music. The long, scraggily hair, the (usually) predominantly black attire and, if we’re being honest, the sometimes frighteningly vile racket of noise that comes out of the speakers when its on. Any conjured fear of the aforementioned is justifiable. Especially when it comes to the works of Mories, who’s track record of musical endeavors spans from Gnaw Their Tongues to Aderlating to Pyriphlegethon, among others. He’s a prolific one-man-band of sorts, using Cloak of Altering as just another means to exhibit his many grim talents.

On Manifestation, Mories’ dishes out yet another LP of unabashed, unforgiving black metal. His particular brand of such incorporates haunting electronics, wrought with heavy industrial influences and foreboding violent tinges of dreadful orchestration. Compared to Cloak of Altering’s previous release, Plague Beasts, Manifestation somehow takes a less hectic backseat, with Mories coasting on a more mild (yet still TOTALLY insane) instrumentation of blast beaten distortion. Vocally, his execution can really only be described as a grating ejection of growls, muffled like screams through a chloroform laden handkerchief in the dark of night.

At times, Manifestation is downright dreadful to listen to, coaxing an underlying sense of anguished unease. “Stretching Infinity” starts out like the warped reality of a Nine Inch Nails song, barreling into a sample of a woman describing a murderous act, backed by a demonic vocal chug of possession. Almost out of nowhere, Mories’ shrill screams thrash about over frantic drumming, paralyzing you into a schizophrenic psychosis. “Black Hole Cloaks” attacks its industrialized beginning with the same shrieks, force-feeding its victim with agonizing highs and lows. Mories gives his all on closing track “Parasitic Altering Sickness,” ending the album with a chaotic composition that suddenly stops, as if to snap out of a hypnotic coma.

If you’re one to handle a subliminal call to evil, Manifestation is ringing the line. From start to finish, the thrashing grind of Cloak of Altering induces a shuddering alarm. Consider it another notch in Mories’ depressive discographic belt.