Shiny!
With
some members of the excellent band Decaying, I knew the first full
length of these finns would had been good. Released on the first day
of 2014, this album starts the new year with a bang. Mixing the
lengthy doom/death approach of Decaying's great debut “Devastate”
(highly recommended) with a huge dose of stoner elements, this album
not only works as an extension of what these musicians are able to do
but as also as its own project.
After
a short introduction, the band isn't wasting any time with “A World
Without End”, a groovy and fast doom/death number. Even though the
riffs may seem simple and typical of the genre, there's a traditional
overtone to be found here. A sort of admiration for the funnier side
of doom metal, the one which is still praising Satan but with a smile
on the face. It's even more clear when you reach the third track, the
immense “The Spiral of Decay” with its mix of clean grungey
vocals and death growls creating hints to both the catchy attacks of
Pentagram and the darkness of Scandinavian doom/death bands like
Runemagick. I really appreciate the clean delivery that creates a
dichotomy in their sound not unlike Desultor.
The
key factor of the excellence of this record is its diversity. From
fast five to six minutes tracks to the two ten minutes, these tracks
have a immense sense of mighty epicness and are very atmospheric. If
you were asking yourself some questions about the particular genre of
the band, don't be too anxious since the formula is very well
incorporated and doesn't suffer from the weakness of a varied yet
confusing album. The seventeen minutes title track closes the album
in a huge way, encompassing their sound completely and it doesn't
even feel that long despite its length.
The
production done by Javier
Félez (Ataraxy, Teitanblood, Avulsed...) is both cavernous and airy.
It's not as tight as it should be but this works anyway since it's
not pure, cult death metal that we're listening to. The riffs are
heavy, blistering and repeated in a nice, enjoyable way. The vocals
can be a bit buried but overall, they're powerful and aren't
distracting from the basis of their sound. The clean vocals could had
been a bit higher in the mix but I like their tone and it's an
interesting touch to the mix. Exploring a melodic sort of doom/death
without becoming a wimpy version like their countrymen Swallow the
Sun or even Barrow Earth, AoB even adds stoner elements creating a
distinctive sound.
