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Album Review: St. October - Whatever Darkness



Photo Credit: Bill Groen/Voices In My Head Podcast

Goth and Dark metal seem to be pretty competitive genres these days. Especially with everything that continues to come out of Scandinavia and Europe, bands like Katatonia, Cradle of Filth, Amorphis, etc. More bands in the genre are entering into the general atmosphere, which makes being noticed more difficult. That means that being unique and interesting can be a difficult feat to overcome.


Coming out of Iowa though, of all places, we have St. October and their 2022 full length album ‘Whatever Darkness’. The album touches on many of life's darkest subjects and topics, including self-harm, suicide, depression, guilt, and many more dark topics. It hits on the topics that nobody really wants, or is too afraid, to talk about.


When you think of Iowa, you don’t think of pounding drums, symphonic backdrops, and heavy driving guitars that will leave you feeling possessed with a dread that you keep going back to. You usually think of corn, a simpler life, small town boredom, and probably Slipknot. St. October bucks all of those stereotypes for a dark sound that is beautifully accented by vocalist Monica Leibert. Her unique voice helps lend that darkness to the overall sound of ‘Whatever Darkness’.


The first track that received a music video off of the album was ‘White Goddess’. As song that is described by guitarist and backup vocalist Dustin Leibert in an interview with I-ROCK 93.5 in the Quad Cities (Iowa/Illinois border region), as ”all the creatures are running from her, the woman who is used to always getting what she wants and has become even a bigger monster than they are- due to fear of falling for this ghostly white succubus specter.”. The video fits the themes of the song fantastically. The track is dark, adrenaline pumping, and has a great groove to it. Making the haunted house they filmed it in the perfect location for the setting.


Ghosts’ is probably another favorite of mine, parts of it feel very anthemic while other parts have a more marching feel. The bridge of the song pulls the tempo back a bit and brings more of a cleaner sound with some acoustic guitar accents and keyboards in the background that really add to the vibe. Then it starts to ramp back up into the original tempo of the song for the exit. The layered guitar solo on the outro really puts the cherry on the top to finish the track out strong as it leads into ‘White Goddess’


White Goddess’ is one of my favorite tracks on the entire album. It was a great choice to be the lead single off of the album. My favorite track on the album though, that I hope gets some good love from fans over time, is ‘Decide PT. II’. It’s such a great track and while all the songs have solid songwriting and arranging behind them, I feel like this track probably is one of the strongest on the album. As time goes on, and more people listen to the album it may become a fan favorite. There are little flourishes put on the guitars that add a certain depth and feel to the track as a whole. Primarily during the verses there are quick little triplet gallops that really punctuate the phrase and add some cool depth.


Since its release in May 2022, it seems to have been very well received by established fans and concert goers alike, earning them new fans with each show they play. Every track sounds big and full. The album was mixed and mastered by Jack Kosto of Seven Spires and Threads of Fate. It's a really strong album and I feel like the only direction St. October can go from here, is up.


This is one of my favorite albums of 2022. I come back to it very often for a full listen. I very intentionally do not rate albums 10 out of 10. No album is perfect, but many come close. I’m giving Whatever Darkness by St. October a very solid 8/10. It’s in my top albums of 2022. Hopefully big things for this great group in the near future.


Stay Furious,

Bill



Photo Credit: Bill Groen/Voices In My Head Podcast


Follow St. October:


St. October is:

Monica Leibert - Vocals, Keys, & Harp

Dusten Leibert - Vocals, Guitar, & Keys

Joe Pement - Drums

Sean Oakes - Guitar & Keys

Sid Summerson - Bass


Tracklist for Whatever Darkness below:



1. Ignite

2. With Open Eyes

3. Ghosts

4. White Goddess

5. Demise

6. Rituals

7. Vengeance Prayer

8. Decide Pt. 2

9. Whatever Darkness

10. The Ashen One


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