When Belief Erodes by Invading Chapel Review

When Belief Arodes by Invading Chapel is the prime example of don’t judge a book – or in this case, the press release – by its cover. Those lovely people at Against PR sent me an email that said that;

“The track channels the band’s signature blend of heavy, doom, and gothic metal…”

This instantly set of a few alarm bells for me.

Truth be told, I’m not a big fan of Doom Metal and I can’t stand Goth music in any way, shape, or form, so I figured that this would just be a case of a track I played once, took the piss out of, and then never bothered with again. Which goes to prove that I know absolutely nothing about music and should, probably, never be let near another record, because, lo and behold, When Belief Erodes is quite good.

It’s obvious that Loïc Malassagne – the man behind Invading Chapel – has an ear for a good riff, and the one that underpins When Belief Erodes is as chunky and tasty as half a barbecued cow, slapped between two buns, and coated in hot sauce. It is very reminiscent of Black Sabbath during their Volume 4 period, there can be no denying that, but it isn’t just a quick homage to the legends, as it chugs and thumps along its merry way with a sense of menace that is dark and foreboding and that fixes the foundations around it for Loïc Malassagne to build the rest of his musical house. And a structurally sound home it is.

There are keyboards straight out of a horror movie, bass work that grinds and grooves along with the ever changing landscape behind it, and drums that thump, bang, and crash in all the right places, but it is his vocal work here that raised an eyebrow from me. Loïc Malassagne can switch from deep, depressed, Goth voice to haunting extended notes in the blink of an eye and it works incredibally well.

In fact, if the groove that pushes the song forward wasn’t in it, I’d still be here for his vocal ability alone.

So, has When Belief Erodes by Invading Chapel changed my opinion of Doom and Goth Metal? Honestly? No. But that’s because I don’t consider this that.

What I consider it to be is undeniably Invading Chapel. A unique sound that mixes its influences but doesn’t get bogged down by trying to emulate them and, instead, carves it’s own path across the face of Rock/Metal. And at the end of the day, that’s all you can ask a band to do.

Head on over to the Invading Chapel Bandcamp page and check it out for yourself and watch the video here;