Casting back to a joint record label all-dayer showcase at Camden’s metal hub the Black Heart pub in 2021 with both the excellent New Heavy Sounds and APF, saw the former label provide heavy tunes in juxtaposition to the APF representatives’ window shaking (no joke here, windows literally rattled scarily hard) raging noise. On that bill were New Heavy Sounds’ gothic doom representatives Cold in Berlin, where vocalist Maya Berlin set in motion her visually captivating live persona in conjunction with an equally absorbing musical set.
It has taken a while for a new set of songs to emerge, but it’s been well worth the wait as the follow up to 2019’s Ritual of Surrender album comes in the shape of The Body of the Wound EP and the good news doesn’t end there as a new album is in the pipeline for release sometime this year. Whilst last year turned out to be a resurgent year for goth with plenty of goth related new music; a string of acclaimed books on the genre and legendary pioneers defying hiatus status by making unexpected returns (e.g Siouxsie Sioux’s return to the stage) The timing feels finely tuned for more younger talent to flex their prowess and kick off the new year in dark and doomy style.
Cold in Berlin indeed do this with aplomb, and come armed with some themes running through the EP. Across its runtime, they reflect on psychology and Buddhism, and how these themes tie together with holding onto suffering and trauma as well as how we can grow from it.
Although Cold in Berlin have goth influences – Maya’s excellent deep, soaring vocals do have a touch of Siouxie Sioux in her DNA –there are also delicious scoops of doom riffage and stirring electronics in their cauldron of sound. One of their strengths is being able to craft strong, head-absorbing songs which are immediately catchy. ‘Dream One’ exemplifies this in the thrilling EP opener. It’s a powerful statement of intent that they are indeed back! The song brims with a thrilling atmosphere, as Maya runs through a list of ten dreams including ‘falling’, ‘calling your name’ to dream six’s ‘I’m dying’ and seven’s ‘repeat, repeat, repeat’ and onwards to the lastly described ‘I’m delicious, disgusting.’ Combined with the initial heavy synth stabs it evolves into heavy fuzz guitar, a pulsating rhythm, for a strong all immersive ending. It’s an excellent demonstration of the band’s capabilities to exemplify gothic doom’s alluring qualities.
The band pack instant punch across its four tracks. ‘Found Out’, ‘When did you see her last’ are hooky melodic songs beneath the swelling heavy intensity. Matched by lyrical depth, it evokes only images of long dark nights of the soul, and as the EP progresses you are taken deeper into their domain. Each song is a different variant of the band’s style and evolving capabilities, from the instant melodic highs (‘Dream One’) to the slower, doomier ‘Spotlight’. With more new music promised to come this year, The Body of the Wound is far more than just a mere taster but an essential listen, and a great starting point for those unfamiliar so far of the band.