The Bell Witch Clandestine Gate is a topic that revolves around a mysterious and eerie legend in American folklore. The Bell Witch, also known as the Bell Witch Haunting, is a legendary ghost story that originated in Adams, Tennessee, in the early 19th century. According to the legend, the Bell family was plagued by a malevolent spirit that became known as the Bell Witch. The haunting began in 1817 when John Bell Sr. encountered a strange creature on their property. This event marked the beginning of a series of unexplained phenomena that would terrorize the family for years to come.
Bart It's not as great as the Mirror Reaper, but almost no one can ever meet that standard. Though I acknowledge this is just part one of a three piece arrangement. Still. just settling into this release is a damn fine experience.
But Bell Witch are blessedly self-aware, adding one second of silence to The Clandestine Gate just to make it longer than Mirror Reaper , then sharing a laugh in interviews about the ridiculous choice. Early on, it s the way Desmond s high bass notes begin to trace a careful filigree over Shreibman s steady organ; nearly 45 minutes later, it s the way distant monastic chants finally coil into death-metal growls, severing the reverie and sending it back to solid ground.
This event marked the beginning of a series of unexplained phenomena that would terrorize the family for years to come. The Bell Witch allegedly possessed the abilities to communicate, move objects, and inflict physical harm on the family members. It would often whisper and talk in strange voices, predict future events, and demonstrate an uncanny knowledge of distant or hidden information.
Review: Bell Witch ‘Future’s Shadow Part 1: The Clandestine Gate’
The cataclysmic rendering of Bell Witch‘s Mirror Reaper record still reverberates through the extreme music scene to this day, over five years since it first emerged from the nether realm like its album art cover suggests. Tectonic, apocalyptic, a record that has bewitched many since that day and it is always a pleasure and a curse to anticipate how a band will follow something so seminal. Well, your answer is Future’s Shadow Part 1: The Clandestine Gate, Bell Witch‘s new record out now through Profound Lore.
Bell Witch ‘Future’s Shadow Part 1: The Clandestine Gate’ ArtworkOne track. 1 hour, 23 minutes and 15 seconds long. Exactly the same as Mirror Reaper. If that doesn’t immediately give you an idea of the scope that this project is coming from, nothing will. Viewed as part one of the Future’s Shadow trilogy, The Clandestine Gate opens with slow, haunting organ notes that drift through empty space. It reminds me a lot of Asva’s What You Don’t Know is Frontier record, and as piano keys take over the melancholy at around four minutes, the morose gloom is starting to really set in.
Like all good funeral doom, The Clandestine Gate isn’t just an exercise in soul sucking heaviness (although when that starts to hit around the eight-and-a-half-minute mark, ooft) but also it is about tension, about atmosphere and about emotional weight too. The ghostly choral vocals come in after eleven minutes, an eternity for most bands but a mere blink in Bell Witch‘s time.
Upbeat isn’t the word, up-tempo certainly isn’t but there is a real sense of space, of vast open vistas that aren’t quite as dark and miserable as we were led to believe. By twenty minutes you could imagine almost this being an ambient piece, but with drums and guitar of course. It is huuuuge, but begins to close in on itself from here, trembling quiet notes shudder in the encroaching darkness and fade away into almost nothing. Sinister vocals weave within a single, creeping melody.
A more gloomy and funereal mood takes over, nothing cataclysmic yet, more like a trudge to the edge of the world. A stare over the end into the void, pausing to contemplate the abyssal growls emanating below you. The organ and choral vocals return as well, like a redemption light as everything starts to crumble. A conscious effort by the band to showcase more of their individual instruments and vocals perhaps? Certainly, it seems that way to me. The final, dirging destruction of death/doom tectonics, punctuated by organ once more, is the pièce de résistance of a work that is ritually spellbinding and invigorating.
I read in the promotional material that Future’s Shadow Part 1 was inspired by the minimalist films of Andrei Tarkovsky as well as the concepts of eternal return, where time never ends, and death is not the end of life but the beginning of a new infinite cycle. You can see exactly how, in the planetary, cosmic expanses of Bell Witch‘s soundscaping abilities; if this is the first part of a triptych that is destined to loop back upon itself like a titanic ouroboros of doom, then it foreshadows a truly time rending masterpiece. We are witnesses to the funeral doom’s rapture.
Label: Profound Lore Records
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It targeted John Bell Jr. in particular, often leaving him bruised and battered. The haunting gained widespread attention and attracted visitors and investigators from far and wide. The Bell family experienced years of torment before John Bell Sr.'s death in 1820, which was attributed to the Bell Witch. Some speculated that the witch had been responsible for his illness, while others believed that it had poisoned him. After John Bell Sr.'s death, the haunting gradually faded away, but its notoriety continued to grow. Numerous theories and explanations have been put forth over the years, including demonic possession, poltergeist activity, and psychological disturbances within the family. Skeptics argue that the entire haunting was a hoax, perpetuated for personal and financial gain. Despite the skepticism and the passing of time, the legend of the Bell Witch continues to capture the imaginations of people interested in the paranormal and supernatural. It has become an enduring part of American folklore and has inspired books, movies, and even a musical. The clandestine gate mentioned in the topic is not explicitly associated with the Bell Witch legend. However, it lends an air of mystery and secrecy to the tale, suggesting hidden knowledge or an entrance into the supernatural realm. The mention of a clandestine gate perhaps alludes to the veil between the living and the spirit world, through which the Bell Witch entered and terrorized the Bell family..
Reviews for "The Malediction of the Bell Witch Clabdestine Gate"
1. John - 1/5 stars - I found "Bell witch clabdestine gate" to be extremely disappointing. The story was poorly developed and lacked any real depth. The characters were one-dimensional and unrelatable, making it hard to really care about what was happening to them. The writing style was also quite simplistic and elementary, which further detracted from any enjoyment I could have gotten from the book. Overall, it was a forgettable read that I wouldn't recommend to anyone seeking a captivating and well-crafted story.
2. Sarah - 2/5 stars - "Bell witch clabdestine gate" had a promising premise, but unfortunately, the execution fell short for me. The pacing was inconsistent, with long stretches of repetitive and unnecessary scenes that added little to the overall plot. The dialogue felt forced and unnatural, making it difficult to connect with the characters and their interactions. Additionally, the author relied heavily on telling rather than showing, resulting in a lack of immersion and emotional investment in the story. While it had potential, the novel ultimately left me feeling unsatisfied and disengaged.
3. Mark - 2/5 stars - I had high expectations for "Bell witch clabdestine gate," but I was left underwhelmed by the end. The plot lacked originality and was predictable, making it a tedious read. The prose was clunky and awkward, with overly descriptive passages that slowed down the pacing unnecessarily. The characters, too, felt flat and uninteresting, and I struggled to empathize with their struggles. Overall, this book fell short of its potential, leaving me disappointed and wishing for more compelling storytelling.
4. Emily - 1/5 stars - I couldn't finish "Bell witch clabdestine gate" as it failed to capture my attention from the start. The writing style was tedious and difficult to follow, with convoluted sentence structures and excessive use of jargon. The characters felt poorly developed and lacked any depth or complexity, making it hard to care about their journey or the outcome of the story. The dialogue also felt stilted and unnatural, further hindering my engagement with the narrative. Unfortunately, this book was a disappointment and not worth my time or investment.