The Angry Scotsman
1986. The metal scene is dominated by thrash. Metal was about speed, technicality and musicianship. 1986 was a major year for thrash, producing some of the genre's finest albums. The points mentioned above being showcased by Slayer, Megadeth and Metallica at the forefront.
Music, being an art, of course meant some had to take metal in a new direction. Metal has reached it's extreme by this point, in speed and technicality, so naturally it made sense to push it in the other extreme. Slow, heavy and simple.
Enter doom metal. Just like a decade earlier, metal had become a bit grandiose. Punk scaled it back, and now doom was here to bring metal back to its roots. That's how I found this album, one considered a pioneer of doom metal.
This albums strongest point is also its biggest flaw in my opinion, it starts off too strong!
Solitude, is a brilliant song. So brilliant, that the rest of the album which doesn't get very close feels like it falls off a cliff. If this song was put as the finale my god, would this have been an amazingly powerful album!
The opening track IS amazing. An acoustic intro quickly leads to some bleak lyrics, delivered in a clean, semi operatic almost wailing type style. A crushing, ominous roof soon kicks in with slow, pounding drums. This dirges on for the rest of the song, highlighted by superb vocals. The doom metal genre, (or at least what it should be) can be summed up in this song.
While today doom metal is simply slow and heavy, often with growled or harsh vocals, this song displays an actually ominous, bleak riff pushed along by simple yet powerful drum beat and clean vocals which truly convey a sense of despair. They are sometimes low, sometimes an operatic wailing and always powerful. Topped off with bleak lyrics. That is doom metal, bleak and a strong sense of despair.
The rest of the album is good, but simply doesn't compare to the opener. However, each is good and display a true blue doom metal style. As a drummer, I would like to note something perhaps not noticed...subtle drumming. Slow and simple, but also loud and pounding, perfect for the style and perfectly executed. Has a slight off kilter feel, with breaks and fills that are just quick enough to have energy but still slow, and choppy, enough to keep it doomy. Double bass, abused to death in thrash and modern metal, actually conveys an energy on this album, especially when compared to the rest of the drumming.
Sprinkle in some stand alone bass, and a little bit of haunting synth and you have a superb doom metal album. The title says it all, epic doom metal. Slow, heavy, and with an impending sense of doom. The riffing is great, perfect drumming, superb songwriting and vocals that convey true despair. "Solitude" is a masterpiece, with other standouts being "Crystal Ball" and "A Sorcerer's Pledge". Not like the doom metal bands of today which are usually some mid tempo, sludgy/stoner type thing with harsh vocals. This album conveys a true sense of doom. Bleakness and despair abound, but never sounds phony.
Classic Doom Metal album.
Four Stars