Reviews
2007-12-16
This is this Hungarian doom outfit's third full length, with the band being a direct continuation of its former incarnation as Mood, a veteran in the Hungarian metal scene which started out in 1993. Well, experience pays, the band's first release for Sweden's I Hate Records is a good example of classic sounding doom metal done with all the right touches of Black Sabbath and St. Vitus, with an updated and crisp sound and some nice melodies.
From the opener – Buried 1000 Times all the right ingredients kick in, Black Sabbath'ish riffs with strong, mid-tempo drumming, vocalist Gabor Holdamf has a deep, vibrato-rich voice that brings to mind some early Candlemass Messiah Marcolin, though he comes off less operatic than the former. Still, he adds a definite air of quality to the music.
The second track – Nails For Crucifixion is probably the strongest cut here, a slower number with great guitar riffing intertwined with interesting melodies, and a great wah-wah lead that adds the perfect Sabbath ambience to the proceedings.
Another good example of the band's craft is November; another slower, melancholic number that still has its grip on some strong melodies.
Another thing the band did well in my book is not going for the classic doom metal cliché of extra-long, brooding epic numbers that clock at about 14 minutes. The album contains 8 songs that don’t overstay their welcome. That, combined with the strong melodies and mostly mid-tempo rhythms puts this safely in more melodic and easier to swallow doom metal section, with such stalwarts as Candlemass and Solitude Aeternus.
Alon Miasnikov
