EP Review: Kapitur – Covered in Dust

“Slumbering matter dissolving into mind and spirit.”

Kapitur – Covered in Dust
July 21st, 2023
Atmospheric Doom Metal
Independently Released
Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Kapitur has been active in the Montreal music scene since 2022, and during that time they’ve certainly made an impact on me. Conjuring desolate sounds bathed in as much warmth and light as they are cold and darkness, their live performances are certainly something to behold. However, we’re not here to talk about that. We’re here to talk about their debut EP, Covered in Dust, released in the summer of this year.

This project essentially consists of the solo compositions of vocalist, cellist and keyboardist Bruna Wanderley, who sought to combine the cello with heavy music in a way not typically seen in the metal world. Oftentimes when I hear of a band including orchestral string instruments it usually conjures comparisons to corny folk metal bands like Finntroll and Ensiferum, who, while I love them dearly, are far from anything that Kapitur is attempting here. A more apt comparison would perhaps be the droning, melancholic approach to doom metal taken by the band Faetooth, who have risen to popularity in the past year as well.

Indeed the music here is much darker than one might initially expect. The melodies are multi-layered in the beautiful doldrums of woe that only a cello is really capable of producing. There is something truly morose about the way that instrument sounds, and I love it. Combined with the heavy, punching background riffage from guitarist Andres Arango and bassist Tyler Addey-Jibb, the atmosphere on here feels both grandiose in scope as well as claustrophobic. It’s like I’m being pulled into these sounds, unable to escape, while the world burns down around me.

Wanderley’s vocals are mesmerizing on top of all of the delectable instrumentation as well. She shifts between softer moments that remind me of singers like Chelsea Wolfe or Emma Ruth Rundle, louder moments that are full of power, and wretched black metal style screaming that offers the perfect foil for the other styles she presents. As a trained singer, it’s obvious that Wanderley has the talent and skill to pull of a flawless vocal performance on this EP.

All of this is flanked by the excellent drum performance from Sam Neumann, who, while breathtaking to watch perform live, is also magnificent on this record. Watching him play, you can tell this guy is a professional, and he brings that same professionalism to this recording. The drums are at times huge and bombastic and bursting at the seams with loudness, At other times they are low, quiet, and barely audible, serving only as the cherry on top to these meager passages of weightlessness as the EP’s post rock leanings build to a crescendo. I love his attention to detail as well, especially with the ghost notes during the EP’s closer, “Dream of the Ants”.

This thing is also very well produced. Recorded at Silver Wings Studios from 2020 to 2021, then mixed by Seth Manchester at Machines With Magnets in 2022, and finally mastered by Harris Newman at Grey Market Mastering, this EP was passed through a lot of hands. Obviously, though, it was worth it, since the final product doesn’t sound like anything I’d ever expect to come from a local band. This sounds so professional and polished that it really deserves so much more attention.

This is easily one of my favourite EPs of the year. Having seen Kapitur live several times now I expected I would enjoy this recording, but I didn’t anticipate just how epic this piece would be. My only complaint, as is usually the case with EPs, is that it’s a bit too short. I hope in the future we get a full length album from Kapitur, but as it stands right now, Covered in Dust will suffice. If you like doom metal, black metal, post rock, or any adjacent genres, you should probably check this thing out.

Final Verdict: 4/5
Awesome

Favourite Tracks:
“Nature Morte”
“The Dust in Us”

~ Akhenaten