Cailleach Calling – Dreams of Fragmentation (Review)

This is the debut album from Cailleach Calling, a black metal band from the US.

Featuring current and ex-members of bands such as Dawn of Ouroboros, Botanist, and White Ward, Dreams of Fragmentation contains 40 minutes of music spread out over four tracks.

Cailleach Calling have channelled their creative blackened hearts into these compositions, and the results are very satisfying. The songs are well-crafted and immerse the listener in waves of thick atmosphere. This is cosmic black metal that blurs the lines between the atmospheric, progressive, and post-black metal styles with ease and skill.

The layered music feels ethereal and deeply connected to the cosmos. The synths used are a big part of this, helping to tie the rest of the music together into a wider expansive soundscape that really takes the listener on a journey into the void. This is cosmic black metal that stares at the universe with wonder and awe, and the music reflects this. In some ways this reminds me of Mare Cognitum, only rather than strong melodies, it’s expressive synths providing the bulk of the emotive colour. Maybe Mare Cognitum mixed with some Starer?

The singer has impressed previously with her voice, but on Dreams of Fragmentation she sounds better than ever. Her screams are piercing and passionately delivered, and her lesser-used growls are as dark and deep as the abyss. We even get treated to some clean singing, (primarily on the 15-minute Cascading Waves, but not exclusively), which is great to hear.

I really enjoyed this. Dreams of Fragmentation is an expressive, emotive, exploratory journey into the furthest reaches of the cosmos. Unlike some bands that find darkness and horror when such a journey is undertaken, Cailleach Calling find only beauty and wonder.

Very highly recommended for any fan of atmospheric black metal.