Saturday 25 July 2015

Livid – Demo 2015 / 79%


...And then comes lividity



From Minneapolis, this is the debut release of this doom metal trio and like their (possibly) favorite hockey team, the Minnesota Wild, they're talented and have a lot of potential. This demo is one long called “Sint” divided into two parts, the first one is slower and fourteen minutes long while the second part is unleashing some more mid-paced doom riffs. During this release, the band managed to showcase the two sides of their identity very well but what are they playing exactly, you'd ask?

Well, it's a bit hard to exactly pinpoint their influences, they take many hints from different schools of doom metal. From the repressively long-winded, bass heavy approach many bands from Finland are (or were!) using to the darker tones coming from the distorted stoner or even the doom/death scenes. They're loud and noisy at times but stay within the confines of traditional doom metal, their bass is thick and never overshadowed too much by the guitars, they're brothers in arms and this equal hierarchy creates an enjoyable wall of sound. The guitar melodies and semi-leads are fun, it's melancholic and well written (see the parts midway through the first part).The no-frills production fits their rudimentary endeavor, it feels like a damp and sad basement full of thundering and shaking riffs with echoing monk vocals.

The vocals are adequate for the genre they play, the singer knows he's not the strength of the band and uses a clean but buried approach. This was the way to go instead of a harsh tone, it's not powerful nor impressive but it fits the lo-fi, simple persona of the band and gives a semi-religious vibe to the songs. Their style, while in essence primitive, is quite modern, they're not too far from what current American doom bands are doing (see the popular Pallbearer) and it's certainly interesting. Recommended for doom fans of almost all horizons.




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