Originally released in 1999 by East Coast Empire, "Twilight Haunt" remains the lone full-length from Cleveland's Pale Creation—now re-released in a limited edition vinyl run by the always excellent A389 Recordings. I've spoken about the band's underrated status and unique approach on several occasions here in the past (five times since 2005, in fact), and these were the first recordings that truly strayed from Pale Creation's thrash-based roots and cemented their turn towards the atmospheric and unclassifiable form of metal that they've been exploring ever since. The light distortion and delay on the vocals; the crunchy midpaced riffing; the eerie, droning solos and pulsing basslines... and I've always found the drumming on this album in particular to add a lot of subtle flare to the material, too. It's actually interesting to note that the vast majority of these tracks are less than three minutes apiece, which is highly uncommon for any band exploring even remotely "experimental" forms of metal, and that really keeps things moving and allows for a more memorable listening experience. While I've definitely got a soft spot for their early demos, "Twilight Haunt" really is an unsung classic that best represents the quality and tone of Pale Creation's discography as a whole: From the furious energy of "Manifest in Me" (one of my personal favorites from the band's entire catalog) and chillingly sustained feedback of "Trade a Soul" (another high-level standout), to the winding guitar runs of "Rage Contained", hectic percussion and superbly dissonant riffing of "Desperate Calm", or the ominous throb of the industrial-tinged "Dreamscape Soundtrack". If you're still unfamiliar with the band's efforts, there's no better place to start...
Pale Creation "Manifest in Me"
Pale Creation "Trade a Soul"
The LP's are limited to a one-time pressing of just 250 copies on "blue storm" vinyl, which I imagine will sell out fairly quickly. And while vinyl copies include a digital download card, you can also purchase the album digitally from the label for just $5!
Get It
A389 Recordings (LP)
A389 Recordings (mp3)
Comments
I wouldn’t know this band without your blog. And I appreciate this a lot.
Although this album is great (probably bought CD version on eBay some time ago) this album doesn’t strike me as much as S / T 7” which is one of the very few album I listen almost every weekend (I listen very few albums constantly).
12.6.2011 | By Carlos
Well said
12.22.2011 | By Zenith of mercury