Review Summary: A sad, bleak and downright depressing album.
Imagine you are sitting atop a hill, trees and rocks strewn about. Below, a river runs through a never ending plain of grass. A path way leading to a broken down stone bridge connects the two pieces of land. The grass is green, the water is clear and the sky is blue. Now, take all the color out so the landscape is nothing but grey. Now that thats done. Visualize your first boyfriend/girlfriend or whatever partner which relationship hurt the most upon ending. They are walking along the path with their new partner, arm in arm, while you sit atop your hill watching like a wretched creature, paralyzed by anxiety and sadness. That is the image that came to mind when listening to this album. Its a sad, bleak and downright depressing piece of work.
The album is typical doom metal, striped down to its most basic components. No cheap tricks or gimmicks, this is straight up doom. Heavy, thick guitar chords ,a little bit of melody, drums crashing and echoing around and a vocalist, that, might be a hit or miss for some, has enough emotion and conviction in him to make this album truly shine.
As stated, the guitars are thick and heavy, with some melody. They work great together, one crushing you into submission while the other works to keep you listening and interested. The drums echo and crash around the place, giving the album that little more depth and atmosphere. The instrumentation isn't anything new, just very well executed.
The vocals. Whoa. As stated he may be a hit or miss depending on your preferences but by god can he sing. His vocals drip with emotion and conviction, they soar over the rest of the band and take front stage many times. I found myself getting completly lost within them, humming and singing along as he poured his heart and soul out. The lyrical subject also helps (and even more if you can relate) to the overall emotion and impact the album can have.
5 songs clocking in at 50 minutes can seem a little daunting, especially when its played at a pace thats a little quicker than a snails. But give it a chance and who knows, maybe you'll join the legion of fans that have hailed this as one of, if not the best doom album to ever grace our ears. 5/5
