Cloak of Altering first caught my attention because it is a Gnaw Their Tongues side project, borne from mastermind Maurice de Jong. While at first his new record Manifestation with its electronic sounds and harsh soundscapes, is incredibly alienating, the deeper you delve, the more you fall in love, realizing that in the end – Cloak of Altering breaks the rules in a way I never thought possible, to create truly triumphant art.
The programmed drums and grating electronics that define songs like “3.00348696261066” are fascinating to say the least, especially when they are contrasted with the strangely lush synths on “Cave Systems Of The Outer Moons” among others. As the song titles suggest – Cloak of Altering is… different to say the least, a huge part of what makes the act so interesting to a metal nerd like me. The sense of darkness that you get from the crushing unorthodox heaviness of Manifestation is a force to be reckoned with, it gives you a unique glimpse into what heavy music can be and forces you to reconsider its place in your life.
What I'm trying to say is that Manifestation is quite unlike anything I've ever heard before. It's a hard album to get into, but once you crack that resilient outer shell it's impossible not to fall in love with what Maurice de Jong has been able to craft here. Eerie, bleak, and fabulously introverted, there is a lot more to Manifestation than initially meets the eye, and for the black metal devotee it will provoke a musical journey worth taking time and time again.
8.5/10
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