Band Names Not Brand Names

When people think doom, they think My Dying Bride or Paradise Lost. Rarely does someone immediately think of a band from the luscious isle of Ireland and what they may have done for doom metal. Doom exists everywhere, both in musical form and in atmosphere. However, most people still do not think of guys like Ireland’s own Mourning Beloveth although they should given the previously named bands. Mourning Beloveth formed in 1992 in an Irish village to play the doomiest metal you could get from the green isle.

They play pretty bog standard doom metal as set by their peers in the early 2nd wave of doom. That means slow to mid tempo songs, guitars and drums played accordingly, and most vocals are rather on the deathy side of things for them. It’s really middle-of-the-road type stuff but don’t let that sway you from listening to them or buying any of their albums. Mourning Beloveth are very good at what they do and they should very well stick to it. While some people will label them as doom/death based solely on the vocal style, I feel they’re very steadfast in being pure doom and do not need to be placed into a hybrid categorization.

The album A Murderous Circus was an eagerly awaited release that took about 4 weeks to get to me from Ireland but I was not let down, despite the fact that I completely mistook them for early career My Dying Bride — an easy mistake to make. Since their earlier releases, Mourning Beloveth have developed a pretty good formula. Since their album Dust, the riffing has been a focal point of each song aside from the tormenting lyrics. Each song’s riffing is heavy and pounding with slight distortion for effect. The first track The Apocalypse Machine is a thundering mid tempo lead off that definitely does not set the tone for the whole album but does showcase their maturity in song structure and writing. A near 15 minute epic filled with heady and power chord heavy riffs from the beginning. It proceeds to lull you through 14:40 of slow, cold and pulverizing doom. The first few minutes come at you slowly, grinding you down with the choppy guitars. They continue to use this method to bring your mood to a solemn level of depression and sloth and they definitely succeed at it. The lyrics for the song are portrayed in a breathy yet deep tone that somehow sits “behind” the guitar track. This is definitely the fastest song on the entire CD.

The next track, Elemental Nausea is definitely an about-face from the first track in that it’s slower than creeping death and continues that for almost 12 minutes. Again, the lyrics are breathy but have more of a lighter tone to them throughout the song, save for the whispering vocal-over track they added for effect. It’s a nice touch to add depth to the story of the track. However, once again the poignant vocals take a backseat track to the drums and the guitars and I hope this is intentional because it’s not like this on earlier releases. Skip ahead to track 4 and it’s a 20 minute epic of more molasses-speed doom that we love. This time though, the vocals are more shouted than spoken or sung and again, there’s an accompanying whisper track that is actually layered behind the main vocal track. With a title like Nothing (The March of Death), the song keeps true to its namesake not only in length but in the unwavering slow-mid tempo segues through the song. Almost all of the more upbeat portions lack vocal to let the guitars take center stage and showcase themselves and this is a good formula for them. But at nearly 20 minutes, it can kind of begin to drone on. It’s very formulaic which is both a hindrance and an advantage since they know exactly what they’re looking to do but sometimes, it goes on too long.

Overall, I really enjoy the CD and listen to it a lot at work because it’s rather soothing and monotone against the backdrop of pornogrind and gorecore that I’ve been listening to lately. Even with its formulaic elements that may prove a thorn in their side in the future, the group is going places in the growing doom scene. From start to finish, each song is solid on its own and could survive alone on a 7″. The guitar work is strong and has excellent production and shows a great amount of maturity from past albums. The vocals are so-so from track to track but generally do the current song justice. And the drumming is rather forgettable since it’s not what is meant to be on display for Mourning Beloveth. Go listen to the tracks at Amazon and really, you should just buy the damned thing. They’re rising up through the doom ranks and deserve the play time from doom’s devotees.