Band members' performance
Paul Kuhr - Vocals
The Vocal thrown by Mr. Kuhr have always been a strong part of Novembers Doom. They had been compared to Mikael Akerfeld of Opeth and Dan Swanö Of Edge Of Sanity(Their producer). I would say that they now sound more like Johan Hegg of Amon Amarth. His Voice is powerfull and deep and they're also a bit harsh sometimes. The first growls of the song ''Rain'' are a punch in the face. His clean vocal are now a bit better than before. His voice is unique and odd. It sounds like he is a depressed maniac.
Larry Roberts & Vito Marchese - Guitars
The guitars on this record are well done. It seems that the band decided to be a bit more aggressive. The Pace are faster and the riff more thrahsy. They're approach seems to be like amon amarth did on ''With Oden On Our Side''. Do not be scarred about this little improvement they also keep their doom roots. Some riff are really depressed and slow like Swallow the sun does.. They're also playing more solos than before. Tracks like ''Novella Reservoir'', ''Drown The Inland Mere'' and ''The Voice Of Failure'' have good melodic solos. It's not a show-off competition, it's a nice add-onn to these songs. The acoustic part are also well written. People always say that a band that plays acoustic bridge and parts are Opeth Rip-off but Novermbers Doom are not. They just play their style and it sound good.
Joe Nunez - Drums, Percussion
The drums done by Joe Nunez are basic death/doom metal chops. The beats are simple and he's not doing a lot of fills. He Also used the double bass a couple time but not too much which is a good point. He did a good job but nothing special here.
Chris Djuricic - Bass
The bass sound of Chris is mighty. We can clearly ear it and they serve the songs for the better. Like most of the metal bassist he's not shinning a lot. The bass is just following the guitar riffs. Not bad but be he could have done better.
Additional Musicians
Ed "Shreddy" B - Keyboard
They keyboard is a welcome instument in some of the songs. ''Twilight innocence'' and ''Leaving This'' are shinning a lot because of these little piano melody. Thanks to Ed ''Shreddy'' B for his appearance.
Overall Sound And Improvements
''The Pale Haunt Departure'' was a record that I've enjoyed but in small doses. The music was missing something. With ''The Novella Reservoir'' the band decided to take a more aggressive approach. ''Rain'' is an awesome starter and instantly catch you. The song are a lot more interesting and it never gets boring. The album has now faster song like ''Rain'', ''Drown The Inland Mere'', ''Dominate The Human Strain''. ''Twilight Innocence'' is a full acoustic song and probably the most interesting song of the record. The Novella Reservoir also include the typical doom metal songs. Songs like ''The Novella Reservoir'', ''The Voice of Failure'', ''They Were Left To Die'' and ''Leaving This'' are much slower and depressed. Those songs have also a great doom atmosphere in the same vein of Swallow The Sun. The Novella Rerservoir is the perfection of The Pale Haunt Departure. They have now filled the little holes that were empty. This album is easy to listen from the start to the end.
The Package:
This record comes in only in regular cd format. Their's no digipack or extra dvd. The cover looks great. It looks like the one on ''The Pale Haunt Departure'' but a differant place and different colors. The Booklet includ all the lyrics and some pictures.
Pros:
A bit more solos
More Agressive
Good Production
Atmosphere
No Filler
Cons:
Maybe Odd for some people
Highlights:
The Novella Reservoir
Drown The Inland Mere
Twilight Innocence
Leaving This
