Get the cans out, Cult of Occult is back.
For Jean Claude VanDoom (vocals, Atomic Trip), Johnny KingDoom (guitar), Gary McDoom (bass, Atomic Trip), Rudy Alleyoopacid (drums, Hiding Sun), and Henri Salvadoom (guitar), 2026 marks not only their fifteenth anniversary but also the release of their fifth album, I Have No Name.
We dive right into the buzz with I Have No Heart, the opening track that reminds us just how oppressive the band can be even before its first real note, which eventually explodes in our faces before returning to that long-awaited, filthy, heavy Sludge, haunted by sickening screams. The extreme slowness of the riffs gives them this heaviness even during the minimalist break, calling the unsettling harmonics back before the thick foundation, which will pass through several abrasive waves—notably the last, more imposing and hellish one finally leading us to I Have No Limbs, the second track, which is also very long but begins in a much wilder manner. Here, too, we find a suffocating slowness and heavy beats, but also more energetic passages clearly designed to hammer away at us while we’re already suffering from these unpleasantly intoxicating sounds that plague our minds for a long time before releasing them into a softer yet equally dark break. The sound explodes again, then fades away on its own, giving way to a I Have No Companions that is fairly stripped-down at the start, yet retains its dark undertones that resonate almost constantly, echoing a calm voice whose unsettling words spread like a threat, soon joined by another, even more harrowing voice that corrupts the first and drags it down. The track is likely one of the band’s most sinister, suddenly bringing back the aggression of I Have No Tongue with its sticky tones fueled by an suffocating atmosphere coupled with anguished groans, and though the track lasts barely half as long as the longest ones, it remains just as punishing. We move on to I Have No Soul, which offers us another fifteen minutes of darkness where sporadic violence assaults us, rolling over us or striking without warning, adding barely bearable harmonics that invoke an extra intensity in the vocals before granting us a moment of respite. It obviously won’t last, returning to its occult touches of doom to better weave their dissonance. The Drone-inspired final will ignite once again when I Have No End kicks off, and although it’s the longest track on the album, it’s also the most rhythm-driven, with a pace fierce enough to snap our necks—not to mention its more lethargic passages that reinforce it, turning the central vocal sections into a truly palpable moment of pain before returning to an imposing approach that transforms into a sea of noise.
I had forgotten just how dense and unsettling a Cult of Occult album could be. If you’re into sludge, you’ll still be surprised by the raw, dissonant, noise-driven yet at times delicious mix that I Have No Name has to offer…
75/100