J-Man
As if the killer seventies' inspired album cover didn't say it all already, the debut album from Sweden's Anguish offers plenty of massive retro-doom metal riffage to sink your teeth into. The likes of Black Sabbath, Candlemass, and Saint Vitus have clearly been a big influence to these young lads from Uppsala, and the music on Through the Archdemon's Head consists of crushing riff after crushing riff without any frills or unnecessary polish. Although the band's decidedly regressive attitude hardly offers anything new to the genre, they do demonstrate a sufficient grasp on how to create quality doom metal on this debut.
If you're the sort of person who likes a lot of really heavy, slow-to-mid tempo riffs in your metal, this is the place to turn. Every song contains enough pummeling doom riffs to satisfy any fan of the genre, and although some songs are more memorable than others, this is a solid listening experience all the way through. What Through the Archdemon's Head lacks in diversity is made up for in sheer power, and although monotony occasionally sets in, it's still a pretty fun listen.
Through the Archdemon's Head is a well-produced and properly executed homage to the golden age of doom metal, and while it isn't anything new by any stretch of the imagination, Anguish is one of the better acts on the retro-doom bandwagon. Although the vocals are a bit one-dimensional and the songwriting hardly strikes me as particularly excellent, this is still an entertaining and worthwhile debut. Anguish has earned a solid 3 stars this time around, and I highly recommend all fans of classic doom metal to take notice!