Reviews
2007-07-05
How do you create a real doom metal cocktail? It's easy, take a smidgen of Black Sabbath, add a splash of Saint Vitus and a dash of Pentagram and bury the whole smelly concoction in a cemetery for a year or two…and Walla – Doom.
Another option would be to create a band, release three albums, and just play some truly good doom metal like Pale Divine do.
From the opening riff in "The Eyes Of Destiny" it's clear these guys are from the oldschool of doom metal. Black Sabbath is in the air, which is heavy and stale with the pure oppressiveness of the music. But they still manage to make this rock, there's a very well done wah-wah solo in the middle of the track, and a great up-tempo section later too. The sound isn’t too polished, nor too murky for the music- it's just right, and the whole combination just sounds right. There are more up-tempo flourishes in the second track, "Fire And Ice", but mostly it's slower stuff in here.
These guys go all the way with the title track, an epic 11 minute monster of a track that is although long, but does not sound plodding or boring in any way. I have to hand it to the band's vocalist, the guy has a voice that sounds strong and expressive without resorting to cheap drama, he serves as the prefect spice to make this smoky gumbo of a doom album work.
I understand from the stuff I read that the past two albums by this band were not as cleanly produced and served up more dirt than this one, can't really imagine them sounding better than this one. This is doom metal the way it was meant to be.
Alon Miasnikov
