Review Summary: A great (traditional) doom metal-album, certainly one of the best in the genre.
In 1987, Saint Vitus released one of the best doom metal-albums ever made: Born Too Late. It sounds a lot like
Black Sabbath, but still they managed to have an own sound. By the time of this album, Saint Vitus had the following members:
Scott "Wino" Weinrich - Vocals & Guitar
Dave Chandler - Guitar
Mark Adams - Bass
Armando Acosta - Drums
Review
The album starts with the title track
Born Too Late, which is very slow (what would you expect on a doom metal-album?). It starts with some heavy guitar playing, and soon drums and bass enter. Then there's a great riff played, which is repeated. After a while, Wino starts singing. After he sung a verse, the riff is repeated again a few times. Then Wino starts singing a verse again. And this is a very memorable verse.
"They say I look like the living dead
They say I can't have much in my head
They say my songs are much too slow
But they don't know the things I know"
And indeed, their songs are very slow. But I really enjoy them. You don't have to play as fast as you can to make good music. Too bad the band never became popular. If only they were born earlier...
Then the main riff is repeated again, until Wino starts singing another verse. And then, a great guitar solo comes in. It's not a virtuoso guitar solo, but it really suits the song.
This song was my introduction to the band, and a very good one it was. This song really suits the band well, because they were indeed 'Born Too Late'.
The next song is
Clear Windowpane, which is a lot faster than the title track. It's not really slow, but it's not fast either. It has a very catchy riff. It's the shortest song on the album, and also one of the best.
And now time for a slow song:
Dying Inside. It starts with some guitar playing, and soon drums and bass enter. Then there's a riff played, which will be repeated over the whole song, similar to the title track. The song is about a guy who's addicted to alcohol and can't control his addiction. And thus he's losing all of his friends. In the middle of the song, there's a great guitar solo which really suits the song. Then the riff is repeated again. This is the longest song on the album and a great one.
There isn't anything else to say about this album, just give it a try if you like Black Sabbath or (traditional) doom metal. You won't be disappointed. The albums not only contains ultra-slow songs like Born Too Late, but also some faster, punkrock-like songs like Look Behind You.
Pros
+ Good combination of ultra-slow songs and some faster songs.
+ Wino's voice and lyrics, they really suit the music well.
+ Great guitar and bass sound.
+ Great riffs and guitar solos.
Cons
- You have to be in the mood for it, it's not something you can listen to at any moment.
- Some people may not like the ultra-slow, heavy sound of the band.
Recommended tracks
Born Too Late
Clear Windowpane
Look Behind You
