Death-Doom Metal

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    Herem – II (2011)

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    Delivering six crushing Death/Doom Metal tracks, today we have Herem and their very well crafted second full-length release titled “II”. For around 45 minutes the band delivers excruciatingly painful and devastating music unlike any other band these days. Mixing a beefy Death/Doom sound with some Sludge influences and some experimental elements, the band reminded us a bit like Frothy Days Longing, an American band that played a similar style and was also led by a female growler.

    Opening with the hypnotic “Heavens”, the 90’s Death/Doom sound is immediately present and while the growls sound a bit different than you typical ones, Valendis Suomalainen does one hell of a job in sounding very brutal and powerful. The riffing is very powerful and the production perfectly accentuates the distorted guitars. The experimentally ethereal entrance to “Earth” generates a very interesting atmosphere that is nicely ‘culminated’ with powerful riffs and some very deep and disturbing (in a good way) growls.

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    The 11th Hour – Lacrima Mortis (2012)

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    Seems like the extremely talented Ed Warby still wants to sing and his (again) god-awful vocals adorn this release, but luckily the music is heaps better than on the band’s first release “Burden of Grief”. The mood in “Lacrima Mortis” is a bit darker thanks to the more ‘gothic’ elements introduced in this release as well as the deep growls of Pim Blankenstein Officium Triste. The riffing is also more dynamic and keeps the attention away from the horrible singing.

    With the opening track “We All Die Alone”, The 11th Hour starts with a desolate piano section accompanied by violins that will make you drop anything else you are doing and focus on this release 100%. The riffs are majestic in the sense that they transfer those juicy depressive emotions we love about Doom Metal. Ignoring the crap-tastic clean vocals, this song is very powerful and melodic. The My Dying Bride-esque “Rain on Me” quickly follows and by this time you know that “Lacrima Mortis” will be one hell of an album.

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    Majestic Downfall – The Blood Dance (2012)

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    With seven pummeling hymns of Death/Doom at its finest, today we have Mexico’s Majestic Downfall and their latest release “The Blood Dance”. This one-man band fronted by Jacobo Córdova (ex Antiqua) packs some serious punch and delivers mournful compositions filled with heavy guitars and brutal growls. If you are a fan from older Death/Doom Metal bands, you should definitely check this one out.

    Quickly deceiving with an acoustic guitar intro to “The Blood Dance”, Majestic Downfall quickly delivers the first brutal blow with some deep growls and pummeling guitar riffs. The riffing is very traditional of the genre but the variations through the song is what makes it very appealing and different from other Death/Doom releases that bore the listener after the 40th iteration of a particular riff. The same applies to the well balanced “From Black to Dead”, a song where the tempo changes make it dynamic and not feel like 11 minutes have passed.

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    Helevorn – Forthcoming Displeasures (2010)

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    Having recently ‘discovered’ Helevorn at WGT 2011, we set out to find all their releases once we got back to the USA. Playing a mixture of Death/Doom Metal with some Gothic elements, Helevorn is one of the last remaining bands that keep the genre alive. With “Forthcoming Displeasures”, these Spaniards have cranked out 50+ minutes of crushing music that will surely impress any fan of the genre.

    Since the opener “From Our Glorious Days”, the mood is set to dark and desolate place that only keeps getting more and more depressing over the tracks presented in this release. The mixture of bleak clean vocals with the crushing (and proper) growls makes the band a double threat and truly delivers in all emotional ranges. Opening with some atmospheric keyboards we have “Descent”. Keyboards provide a nice backdrop through this release and never get on the way of the crushing riffs, mournful vocals and mid-tempo structures that we all love from Death/Doom Metal bands.

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    The Living Fields – Running out of Daylight (2011)

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    In days where most American bands are trying to be as vanilla as they can in order to play what’s popular and/or achieve fame, it is quite enjoyable to get bands like The Living Fields and find that there are still lone warriors trying to combine different genres and produce very interesting (and fresh) sounding music.

    Mixing a hefty dose of Death/Doom Metal with Pagan/Viking/Folk influences, “Running out of Daylight” is one of the richest and multi-leveled releases we have received in 2011 and made us take more than a fare dose of spins before we could actually write anything about it. With the opening “Remnant”, the band quickly delivers a powerful Doom foundation with classical string instruments in a way that bands like Ashes You Leave and Silent Stream of Godless Elegy do in their own respective areas. With crushing guitars and interesting tempo changes, the band dances around the lines of Doom brutality and melody seamlessly.

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    Graveyard Dirt – For Grace or Damnation (2010)

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    With Death/Doom Metal being almost a dying art, Graveyard Dirt delivers a gasp of fresh air to one of our favorite genres. In “For Grace of Damnation” the band crafts one of the most monumental releases of the genre we have heard in quite a while.

    Drawing obvious inspirations from early Anathema and Paradise Lost, and combining them with newer influences of Mourning Beloveth, Shape of Despair, etc, the band shows great maturity in all eight tracks presented in this release. Painting landscapes of desolation and darkness, “For Grace or Damnation” is sure to attract all fans of the genre.

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    Before the Rain – Frail (2011)

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    Featuring none other than Gary Griffith (ex-Morgion) on vocals, today we have Before the Rain and their killer sophomore album “Frail”. It’s a rare occasion that we actually take time to listen (let alone review) albums that somebody else recommends to us since we are very busy listening and reviewing everything we get from labels and PR companies, but “Frail” caught our attention since the first song and it’s too good of an album to not tell people about it.

    Four years after their impressive “...One Day Less” debut release, the band comes back with a revamped lineup and a richer and broader sound. Taking full advantage of Gary’s vocals, the band’s sound shifts between traditional growls and clean ‘regular’ doom style vocals. The music is a lot better crafted and the hopelessness feeling given by the melodic passages is as good as it can get.

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    Frailty – Silence is everything… (2010)

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    Lastly from the Frailty promo pack we got in the mail a few days ago we have “Silence is everything…” another EP released by this monumental Death/Doom band from Latvia. In the same vain as on their “EP” release from 2009, we get a glimpse of the band’s excellent songwriting skills and abilities to keep this genre alive and well.

    Starting of with “Wendigo” we get a solid dose of fast paced Death/Doom Metal with passages that reminded us of Anathema in their earlier days (“Pentecost” and “Crestfallen” albums). But with a heavier edge than on the band’s first full-length release and with some harsh almost Black Metal-like screams here and there.

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    Frailty – EP (2009)

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    Featuring songs created before Frailty’s debut album “Lost Lifeless Lights”, this eloquently titled EP gives us 30 minutes more of Frailty’s magical Death/Doom Metal. And in case you are a hardcore Death/Doom collector, you better get the Latvian release since it’s only limited to 300 hand labeled copies.

    In “EP”, the band shows a heavier and somewhat different side to what we heard in “Lost Lifeless Lights”, but this makes sense, since you can hear how the band’s songwriting abilities evolved to what became their first full-length album “Lost Lifeless Lights”. And since “EP” was recorded in 2009 it probably sounds way better than if they would have recorded it before they had a release under their belt.

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    Frailty - Lost Lifeless Lights (2008)

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    After listening to their 2007 promo, Frailty caught our ears with their crushing Death/Doom Metal in a way that no band since the early 2000’s and late 90’s had done it. Hailing from Latvia, this band keeps the Death/Doom Metal flame alive and delivers 9 crushing tracks in their first full-length “Lost Lifeless Lights”.

    Quickly after their Intro song, the band treats us to some crushing guitar riffs in the traditional vein of bands like Saturnus, Mourning Beloveth, Shape of Despair, etc. With the traditional tuning of Doom Metal music, the band’s riffing is very crushing in the sense that is simple, desolate and authoritative. The growls quickly make their presence and the traditional atmospheric passages soon follow. “I Know Your Pain” is the prefect song to create a depressing and monumental atmosphere to surround this release.

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