C.B Murdoc feature Mörk Gryning's former members, who performed on that band's latter albums. Without any surprise, when looking at the new band's name, one will not hear any classic Swedish black metal traits here, but otherwise those more progressive elements are abound. In a much bigger scale.

To me, C.B Murdoc are a new acquaintance, and to tell the truth, an acquaintance that will not be a soulmate in any easy way: 'Here Be Dragons' is a multifaceted motherfucking nut job! But not a disastrous one. CBM might take modern extreme metal a step, or even two, further. Being praised by Meshuggah guys, and yes, also influenced by that djent colossus, CBM can be said to be a groove metal band.

Betrothing djent with twisting and twitching discordant death metal and noise rock, 'Here Be Dragons' is a bullseye name for this platter. This is said to be "an attempt to compose the soundtrack to the chaotic and often unpleasant human existence." While the band comes from Scandinavia, their music does not really sound like it was coming from that peninsula. The sound they've created is very inhuman, distressing and callous. It's like a machine putting out some intelligent music, so it is not too clinical. Yes, Meshuggah is a good reference point with another Swedish one, Anata, and US band December Wolves is another one. More can be found of Relapse Records' roster... Sometimes it feels like there was more than one song playing simultaneously.

The guitar work is noisy. It varies between very heavy and crunchy rhythm guitar playing, and various cold noises such as screeches, dissonant stuff, and pulled strings bits. The rhythm section is loud as fuck! It's nice to hear bass guitar in all this noise. The drums are snappy and tight, and mathematical tempo shifts are heard every now and then. Anything from insanely fast blasting to groovy beats and unusual drum rolls are covered, and then some. The more or less high-pitched growl vocals sound enraged and pretty powerful, but sadly the lyrics are printed above each other, so the real intent of messages are left obscured. There is some electronics in some of the songs, and they bring in a nice change in atmosphere. CBM, however, cannot be said to be an industrial act. The Sverker Widgren production is full, close to congested, and cold, if not as clinical as, say, some earlier Peter Tägtgren jobs.

In 'Here Be Dragons' C.B Murdoc offer a cruel alternative for basic djent nonsense. A listener will surely require a "djental exam" after this one..! It is not for those who like to rock through their days, and definitely not for those who do not possess an adventurous spirit. As I mentioned earlier, I'm not soulmates with this album, and it is impossible to say if that will ever happen. Sometimes the unexpected has happened, so please, keep that in mind when looking at my score for the album...

Rating: 6- (out of 10) ratings explained

Reviewed by Lane
08/31/2016 17:56