Doom metal has never reached a massive audience here in the States like it has in the UK and Europe. There are powerhouse bands out there such as My Dying Bride, Saint Vitus, early Paradise Lost, and even the mighty Black Sabbath. These bands have laid down the groundwork for doom as we know it today and some such as My Dying Bride are still at the forefront of it. However, they’re no longer alone. The cabal of doomsters grows every week with some sliding into comfy cookie cutter role and some choose to do their own thing. And the latter is just what Illinois-based Novembers Doom have done. They’re spearheading the doom/death movement in the US and probably in the rest of the world as well.
Their unique blend of death metal growls and grunts meld so perfectly with the somber tones of doom metal. One minute it’s in-your-face death metal splendor, the next it’s quiet and all to relaxing dreary doom riffs taking you to a darker place. They’ve been in the doom scene for nearly 20 years with a pretty regular release schedule of one album nearly every two years. While not at the beginning of the movement, they certain were around at the formation of the second wave of doom in the late 80s. Not content with the dreary (pun intended) state of doom when they formed, they intended to blend in death metal influences such as blazing riffs, tight up tempo double bass drumming and guttural vocals and they succeeded where many have failed. Their 2005 release The Pale Haunt Departure is a testament to their well honed craft.
Released by The End Records, the album hit the ground running with excellent reviews all around. Some christened them doom’s Opeth however, I do not feel this is appropriate just because vocal stylings may be similar but the aesthetics and thematics of both bands are vastly in different universes. If one wanted to try and make this austere link, they would be attributed to mid-period Opeth in terms of musicianship and writing. However, I’m not going to try and make this link.
The album The Pale Haunt Departure hits you full speed from the first track which just happens to also be the title track. Opening with a quick choral intro, double tempo drumming kicks in almost immediately and sets the pace for the rest of the song. Next drop the crunchy guitar riffs, perfectly distorted, in part of the build up to the first verse. The lyrics do well to echo the album’s rather creepy farm-based cover art, but is truly talking about the rise of man and his eventual death. As with most doom lyrics, if they’re interpreted a certain way, they seem to deal with Christian undertones quite often. This is not always the case however, it is rather frequent when reading a lyric sheet. In the latter quarter of the song there is an excellent drum/guitar bridge mirroring the opening barrage. Excellent way to start an album.
This in-your-face tempo is not always the speed at which the album chooses to progress. Case in point track number three, Autumn Reflection. This actually starts off like most doom songs do: slow, dreary, kind of boring with a lone three cord guitar bridge to intro the song with. When Paul Kuhr starts in with the lyrics, it cements the typical doom sound until Vito Marchese steps in with more distorted guitars and steps up the tempo a bit. The tempo of the song switches from mid tempo during choruses and some bridges and segues into slow and sombre during other bridges and the verses. So far, the album is a good mix of their hard-hitting doom/death and more true to style doom metal. The up-and-down nature of these songs continues throughout the CD both showcases how well the band is progressing how much they’re trying to out out varied music. In their earlier efforts, most of the disc — if not all of it — was comprised of similarly tempoed songs and variation was low on the radar. While this variation is great and very welcomed, it can really give listeners a mixed bag of results. Many people are listening to doom for something slow and dreary or listen to doom death for dreary growling, they don’t want both.
I really like the progression that the band is taking and it’s thrusting them into more mainstream waters but they must take care to not alienate the fans that got them to where they are now. The Pale Haunt Departure is a real rollercoaster with a healthy mix of doom and death metal sure to please fans new to the band. However, this is a potential stopping point for the seasoned fans who remember the band when any given track could lull you to sleep or into a depression and do not like this new direction the band has been heading in for some time now. While the songs are not interchangeable, some of them could be mistaken for others at first listen. I thoroughly enjoyed the record and can understand the progression from earlier works and highly recommend this for first time listeners of the band.
Post a Comment