Review Summary: Novembers Doom’s crowning achievement and an intensely emotional work of death/doom
With Novembers Doom’s previous entries gradually becoming more accessible, there’s a sense of really wanting to take things to the next level with 2005’s The Pale Haunt Departure. The band acquired a broader platform by signing to The End Records while James Murphy and Dan Swano were involved in post-production, the latter even contributing a guest solo to “Dark World Burden.” It’s a natural progression that feels in character for them to the point that it wouldn’t be too off-base to think of it as a more refined version of 2002’s To Welcome The Fade.
Those upgrades see some explosive results with more fire and drama in the band’s playing than ever before. The guitars are particularly charged up as an incredibly thick tone leads to crispy yet sludgy walls of sound and a cleaner production gives the acoustic sequences more room to breathe. The drums also come out terrific, giving the title track’s rhythmic bursts and double bass runs even more impact. There’s also some tasteful keyboard work at play, providing some subtle autumnal textures.
Of course, the vocals may be the band’s most iconic asset and this remains one of Paul Kuhr’s strongest performances. While this sort of morose growl/clean dichotomy was well-established, Kuhr remains one of the best to ever do it. His roar is one of the most legible in the genre while conveying a distraught rage, giving his personal lyrics even more weight, and his baritone always has pathos behind it. Perhaps he can be a bit melodramatic and I sometimes wonder if he could’ve explored more of his clean range, but it always achieves what it sets out to do.
Speaking of which, it’s pretty great to see how the more polished presentation only intensifies the band’s emotional aspects. This is perhaps best expressed by “Swallowed By The Moon,” its lyrics detailing a parent’s perspective on how their passing would affect their child with the clean/harsh contrasts and especially gripping growls effectively channeling that sense of personal heartbreak. “Through A Child’s Eyes also stands out as a dramatic contrast, allowing opaque guitars and subdued vocals to deliver the spiritually crushed yet wistful lyrics. “Autumn Reflection” may be the album’s one reprieve and manages to have more optimism than can usually be expected from this sort of goth metal, its exclusively clean vocals navigating more dynamics and coming out with a genuine love song.
Twenty years later, The Pale Haunt Departure may be Novembers Doom’s crowning achievement as well as one of the best melodic death/doom albums out there. I remember comparing it to Opeth quite a bit at the time, most blatantly on “In The Absence of Grace” and “The Dead Leaf Echo while other tracks play like a version of the band that isn’t so allergic to verse/chorus structures. Yet at the same time, this degree of personal involvement is the sort of thing that could only belong to Novembers Doom and it’s great to see how the greater platform sharpened their formula. It may not have been a mainstream breakthrough but it remains a strongly encouraged listen.
