UMUR
"Dungeon Prayers & Tombyard Serenades" is the debut full-length studio album by US doom metal act Wooden Stake. The album was released in March 2011 by Razorback Records. The band was formed in 2010 by basist/ vocalist Vanessa Nocera and guitarist, drummer and keyboard player Wayne Sarantopoulos and are already responsible for several EPs and split releases.
The music on "Dungeon Prayers & Tombyard Serenades" is filthy, organic sounding old school doom metal. One of the main attractions in the music are the vocals and the horror/ occult themed lyrics by Vanessa Nocera. Vanessa Nocera delivers some really convincing raspy extreme type vocals, but also speaking and clean vocals. The variation in the vocal department really gives the songs on the album an extra dimension. The songs are mostly slow-paced but there are mid-paced sections too and it´s obvious the band understand the importance of variation and memorability. They never betray their downright filthy doom metal sound though and "Dungeon Prayers & Tombyard Serenades" comes off as a very consistent album.
The album is raw and purposely underproduced, giving the album a very organic and simple sound which is perfect for the songs.
It´s not always doom metal releases are able to bring out enthusiasm in me, because of the slow pace and often repetitive riff structures that many acts in the genre seem to favour, but Wooden Stake really took me by surprise. They deliver the full package. Intricate songwriting, filthy dark atmosphere and a murky organic production to boot. Fans of filthy old school doom metal, who in addition to clean female vocals ( not of the angelic type), can appreciate raspy extreme vocals should take notice of this album. A 4 star rating is fully deserved.