CD Review: Doleful Lions - Shaded Lodge And Mausoleum

Rick Sims of the mighty awesome punk band, The Didjits, used to like to yell, “Let's see the sign of Satan” between songs. The Doleful Lions latest CD, Shaded Lodge And Mausoleum, is what popped that memory into my head. Shaded Lodge And Mausoleum's lyrics were inspired by the San Francisco Bay area metal band Von who once put out a demo record named Satanic Baby. The Doleful Lions atmospheric folk music is similar to John Martyn and The Incredible String Band and is actually more sinister sounding than Von's black metal. Yep, Jonathan Scott and David Jackson have concocted a rather Lovecraftian brew.

The horror show vibe begins on the very first track, “Sham Magic In The Night Gallery”, which, as the liner notes point out, was recorded on Halloween. Summoning the devil has never sounded so pretty. “Strange Vibrations” is a creaky, claustrophobic, buzzing, and humming flight of fantasy that would likely appeal to Black Sabbath fans just as easily as folk music fans. The big dark angel himself gets namedropped on the very mellow “The Ghost That Haunts Your World Will Disappear” and like in Milton's Paradise Lost Lucifer is a rather sympathetic character. The Doleful Lions have their own “Satanic Blood” song and it's as sacrilegious as it sounds, although it's also, intentionally or unintentionally, funny since it has such a bright and sunny sound with a tune that sounds similar to the Cure’s “Just Like Heaven”.

So if you're into lyrics like this from “Slip Inside The Gateway”: “If apparitions creep outside your door, and the crawling chaos pours across your floor, if the darkness of the void invites you in, and the evening phantoms penetrate your skin, just let it all come down, hear the bells of doomsday pound”, then Shaded Lodge And Mausoleum should be just your cup of black tea. The album is available through Parasol Records.