Review Summary: "Hey man you wanna try some LSD?'
Doom Snake Cult was one of the original death/doom bands to arrive in the scene in the late 80's. They released one demo in 1989, the year they formed, and then years later in 1992 released this full-length. Like a lot of the bands that formed at the time the band soon vanished into obscurity. Given the title death/doom one could have many bands pop in their head but more than likely none of them will sound eerily similar to Doom Snake Cult. The album opens with a circus tune that soon after dissolves to reveal the slow, punishing riffs that the album delivers in surplus, and let's all be honest excessive riffs is never a bad thing.
Love Sorrow Doom creates a monotonous atmosphere that almost puts the listener in a trance. This album proves that the band wasn't frightened to show a little experimentation in their music. Examples of said experimentation are spread sparingly throughout the record whether it be the pulsing intro to "Enchanted Cerebral Forest" or the haunting echo that backs the already shrill vocals on "Carnival Freak Show" that fades in and out as you fade in and out of reality. These moments are enough to break the monotony but don't stray so far off the beaten path that it takes the trance style qualities away.
Given the doom influence Doom Snake Cult holds this album is blastbeat free. The drummer focuses more on moving the song along (whether or not it be at a turtles pace) than showing off his speed or technical acrobatics. Coming from a death metal fans prospective these qualities are a breath of fresh air. The album reaches its peak of speed on "Sorrow" and that is still a farcry of being considered anything even relative of breakneck. The vocalist never leaves his comfort zone throughout the playtime of Love Sorrow Doom. His raspy mid ranged evil sounding shriek is all that is heard the entire album. Amazingly his voice still remains entertaining by the time the album comes to an end. The monotone in his voice just adds more to the trippy trance-like sideffects the album causes.
Given that the vocalist enunciates well the lyrics aren't the most difficult to decipher. The themes they take on are interesting, an example would be on the track "Fertility Rate" where the vocalist discusses tripping on LSD. "Swimming in an ocean of my tears, drowning in the deepness of my thoughts, wallowing in the cesspool of emotion, choking in this world of filth". At this point in the song it seems to be another directionless attempt to sound "deep". This may have been the case if after more mentioning of tears and an arc they didn't throw you for a loop and mention LSD, because LSD makes everything better. While the lyrics may not be the most complex they manage to hold the listeners attention and are delivered in a catchy enough manner to satisfy.
Overall this album receives the most sought after rating, a five out of five. Even though the album is so simplistic it contains some elements that make it the closest thing to perfection in the death/doom genre. Heavily recommended to everyone on the face of the earth, or for those of you on LSD "anyone in the universe...man".
