An Altar to Cold, Rigid, Dreadful Death

[calivianya]

AN ALTAR TO COLD, RIGID, DREADFUL DEATH
He recoiled in terror, for the scene had changed, and now he almost touched a bed: a bare, uncurtained bed: on which, beneath a ragged sheet, there lay a something covered up, which, though it was dumb, announced itself in awful language.

The room was very dark, too dark to be observed with any accuracy, though Scrooge glanced round it in obedience to a secret impulse, anxious to know what kind of room it was. A pale light, rising in the outer air, fell straight upon the bed; and on it, plundered and bereft, unwatched, unwept, uncared for, was the body of this man.

Scrooge glanced towards the Phantom. Its steady hand was pointed to the head. The cover was so carelessly adjusted that the slightest raising of it, the motion of a finger upon Scrooge’s part, would have disclosed the face. He thought of it, felt how easy it would be to do, and longed to do it; but had no more power to withdraw the veil than to dismiss the spectre at his side.

Oh cold, cold, rigid, dreadful Death, set up thine altar here, and dress it with such terrors as thou hast at thy command: for this is thy dominion! But of the loved, revered, and honoured head, thou canst not turn one hair to thy dread purposes, or make one feature odious. It is not that the hand is heavy and will fall down when released; it is not that the heart and pulse are still; but that the hand was open, generous, and true; the heart brave, warm, and tender; and the pulse a man’s. Strike, Shadow, strike! And see his good deeds springing from the wound, to sow the world with life immortal!

No voice pronounced these words in Scrooge’s ears, and yet he heard them when he looked upon the bed. He thought, if this man could be raised up now, what would be his foremost thoughts? Avarice, hard-dealing, griping cares? They have brought him to a rich end, truly!

He lay, in the dark empty house, with not a man, a woman, or a child, to say that he was kind to me in this or that, and for the memory of one kind word I will be kind to him. A cat was tearing at the door, and there was a sound of gnawing rats beneath the hearth-stone. What they wanted in the room of death, and why they were so restless and disturbed, Scrooge did not dare to think.

Black cedar, frankincense, and dust.

I've tried two blends that reminded me of Cathedral today, but after smelling An Altar to Cold, Rigid, Dreadful Death, I had to do a side by side test. These two are incredibly alike. The main notes I get from Cathedral are the cedar and frankincense, which are the same two notes I get from this. However, this is better. There is a little bit of spiciness to this blend that you don't find in Cathedral. I'm not sure if it's the dust note, or something different about the cedar note, but this blend is exactly Cathedral with an extra kick of awesome and I absolutely LOVE IT. I have a full bottle of Cathedral on the way to share with my boyfriend, but I really do wish I'd gotten a full bottle of this instead now that I've smelled it. I don't know if I can justify having both because of my sucky financial situation right now, but I just might have to order this anyway. It is so good, I really can't say enough how much I love it.

[Blood onmy hands]

I think that calivianya's review and comparison to Cathedral was perfect. The two blends are definitely very similar. Cathedral is a bit sweeter and smoother where Dreadful Death has a spiced woods quality and a touch more of a dry, dusty feel in the drydown for me. I prefer Cathedral's smoother, calming feel, but this is still a good resins & wood blend.

[milo]

Pretty much incense and cedar on me. This reminds me of inside an ancient church, with old pews and burning incense. I like this, but have Midnight Mass for my incense fixes.

[Schmoozy]

Just as the description states - cedar & frankincense. Dry, dusty old wood, with heapings of resins.

[Invidiana]

Thi is the first BPAL cedar blend that actually works on me. No men's cologne, no hamstercage, no pile of woodchips; I think it's becaue the cedar here is black cedar, and also becau esI amp resins and thankfully the deep, sweet frankincense balances it out perfectly. I also like how, as others noted, there is a certain warm spiciness to the wood. I actually prefer this to Cathedral because it's darker and richer.

[SophieCedar]

Very nice. This is dead black death in a bottle. The cedar is dry and unwelcoming.. The dust note is perfect! The frankincense provides a sense of somber spiritualism. This is great!

[ladyjc]

Cedar is one of my all-time favorite scents. Unfortunately, I don't think black cedar smells the same as the cedar in something like Intrigue (love Intrigue). This is dry and a tiny bit harsh to me. I honestly thought I'd love it, especially since I tend to love frankincense as well. It's going kind of bitter on me too. Darn.

[rayvn1]

Ooh! Dust and cedar Keen. For some reason it reminds me a bit of my beloved Potter's Field or maybe Moon of Small Spirits. I'm excited to try it out with some of the mud and grass scents that didn't work too well on me from this year's Yules.

[Drarra]

I wore this scent yesterday for the first time, and it was fantastic on me. The cedar wasn't overly woodsy on my skin, nor was the frankincense too resin-y. The overall effect was dark, somber and delicious. Reading reviews, I may have to look into Cathedral.

[zankoku_zen]

OMG - this is dark, incensey and delicious. Normally, cedar turns to pencil shavings on me and frankincense is too resiny. Instead, this is dark, foreboding and deliciously woody with a touch of smoke.

 

If I were a guy, I'd totally wear this. All the time.

[edenssixthday]

An Altar to Cold, Rigid, Dreadful Death - I typically really like frankincense and dust is a no-no and cedar is in-between, so I was curious how this would pan out. The frankincense and cedar are both just too dry to blend well with the dust note and have it appeal to me. To my nose, it's extremely dry and dusty, and makes me think of an ossuary.

[ljaylh]

I was curious about this one, and ordered a decant - I'm glad I did! As it turns out, it's not at all like I was expecting.. I had in mind a dark, dusty, slightly sinister smell.. probably more for the name of the blend rather than the notes.

 

So what a surprise - on me, this feels very warm and sort of golden/glowy - not dark and deathly at all. The frankincense here is beautiful, smooth and slightly sweet, and as others have mentioned the black cedar is really lovely - it still has that 'wood' feel to it, but it's not doing the soggy sawdust thing that regular cedar sometimes does. Strangely enough, I'm getting a slight plum tinge to the fragrance.. almost Hellion-like - weird, since I don't think there's any fruit in here!!

 

I'm not sure where the dust comes into play.. usually when dust is a listed note, I can smell.. well.. dust. Perhaps that's what is giving the blend a light and airy feel - again, a surprise since I expected dark and heavy. It is resinous in feel, but not in a heavy way.

 

Overall, this is a really lovely scent and judging by the low number of reviews perhaps it wasn't one of the more popular blends in this year's Yules? I wouldn't be at all surprised if this turns out to be a sleeper hit - one that people end up looking for later - it will almost certainly age nicely, and it's one of those 'every day' blends that I could wear regularly when I just want something warm and comforting that gives me the nice incense smell without being too heavy.

[hlinspjalda]

Cedar and frankincense are two of my favorite notes, and they didn't disappoint in this one.

 

In the vial: Delicious frankincense note with a note that makes me think of polished coffin wood.

 

Wet: Boy, that frankincense note loves me. This is the same note I get from The Blasphemare Reliquary, and I love it. The polished wood note has receded some; it's not the more intense cedar I usually get.

 

One hour: Ah, that's the dusty note I love from The Marquis de Carabas. Here it's more sedate and remote, less intimate thanks to the frankincense and wood. There's a static sort of moodiness to this scent that I really like; it's like coming into a room and breathing the air and everything becoming entirely still as you absorb a new mood.

 

Two hours: Softer now, with a less insistent frankincense impression. It is dry, resinous, woody, with that tickly-warm dust note.

 

Three hours: Soft, warm, dry, woody, a lot like Bony Moon but less reserved and understated. I like it very much but would be prone to use this scent to scent other things -- moisturizing lotion or sugar scrub -- rather than as a standalone perfume.

[thekittenkat]

In the bottle: Mmm, two of my faves, cedar and frankincense.

 

Wet: The cedar is becoming a little bit sweeter, but the dust note is tempering the frank.

 

The dry-down: The three notes have combined into a lovely scent. If you like cedar or frankincense or the idea of them together, this is a must. And it's a warm scent on me, not cold at all.

Edited January 15, 2011 by thekittenkat

[melange]

Sniffing this as it dries on my skin, I feel as though I can pick out each note. It doesn't take long to warm up, though, and it becomes spicy and almost fruity. I feel like a pomander chilling on a dark altar, in a good way.

[porcelina]

MMM. dark, dusty wood and church incense. this is not as resinous as midnight mass (one of my perennial favorites)- it's dustier and drier. the wood, to my nose, is not as sharp as cathedral. it's very well-blended and is a welcome addition to my "bpals that smell like incense" collection!

[biocarolyn]

So cool. I'm a bit of an odd duck, since I love cedar, so take this all with a grain fo salt. I do agree that this cedar is a bit different than in many other Cedar blends, and the frankincense takes over completely on the drydown. So it feels very incensey and old and dry.