Hailing from England this group throws down six tracks (with only one running less than seven minutes) of diverse doom metal that seems to take influences from everyone from early Paradise Lost and Anathema to a little bit of My Dying Bride, all with a slightly modern spin. The vocals are generally aggressive growls, but they do incorporate some singing and whispering as well, as they similarly shift the dynamics of the songs with nice clean/acoustic breaks or atypical rock chord progressions (never abandoning the darker vibe that the music tends to give off). There's suitable dual guitar interaction with melodic lead lines or dual guitar harmonies over heavy rhythms, tasteful uses of keyboards as accentuating textures, driving chord progressions, simple yet powerful drumbeats, etc. The guitar parts are actually fairly unique for this style of music, taking the classic formula and adding in an original flare with some unusual time signatures and note choices that really add to the atmosphere. The tempos aren't too mundane, but I certainly wouldn't mind hearing a bit more work with both faster and slower tempos. Nothing too extreme, just a bit more variation towards both ends of the spectrum. I definitely feel that the recording hurts them, because the songwriting and riffs are strong, but the recording is too thin and lacking in sheer density to do their work justice. I can scarcely hear an ounce of bass, the drums are a bit flimsy, the guitars are crunchy but lack density, etc. The vocals sound pretty close to dead on, as do the keyboards, but the rest of the mix needs a lot more low-end force and overall emphasis on thick, destructive power, because under different circumstances these songs could absolutely pummel. The layout is pretty straightforward. The imagery all consists of flames and steaming hot matter resulting from a volcano eruption, the text is simple and easy to read, etc. They waste a bit of space repeating information and they don't include lyrics or anything, but whatever. It looks okay. I've seen better, I've seen worse. My two cents? With a slightly tighter performance, a hint more tempo variation, and a more powerful recording, you'll really see this band going somewhere. Admittedly the songs can be a bit tedious at an average running time of around eight minutes or so, but it's not a huge problem. And I see no reason why a suitable record label shouldn't be willing to help them on their way, because this self-released effort certainly divulges the potential brewing within. Not too shabby...
[self-released]
Running time - 48:37, Tracks: 6
[Notable tracks: The Prophecy, Till Light Enshrouds]
The Prophecy - http://www.clix.to/TheProphecy/
