doom / death metal
What better way to start another rotten year on this dreadful planet than with a soul depraving doom metal album. 'IIIIXXI' by Lithuanian doomed four- piece Sullen Guest was released back in March but it reached us only now. According to the added note, this album is "their best Sullen Guest stuff" and they "are doomed to look forward to your fatal feedback". For the latter, I'm not sure sending the album to Merchants Of Air was a good idea to begin with. We rarely do "fatal" feedback. We're way too nice for that, or too open minded. Plus, I'm a doom metal fan, so I'm afraid my feedback will be rather positive and uplifting and for that I sincerely apologize in advance.
Sullen Guest was formed in 2013 in the city of Vilnius. Since then, the quartet has been sending vile waves of riffs, drums and growls though innocent instruments. That sonic torture now results in a pulverizing doom metal album, one with an excellent blend of styles and influences. These days, doom metal is a surprisingly varied genre so this album could have gone either way. Yet, these guys have taken the slow, melodic and depressive path, something opener 'Dies Irae' immediately showcases. Without any need for intros or atmospheric meandering, this track quickly delivers the melodic riffs and methodical drums. The whole thing feels like a mix between Saturnus and Evoken, which I think is a good thing.
Most of the tracks on this album follow that example, with 'Altered State' being an absolute highlight. This is one of those songs that pushes an album into end-year lists and listeners into fans. My Dying Bride comes to mind here, without the violins but definitely a potential fan-favorite. 'Denial pt. 1' opens with grinding riffs before blasting out in a sluggish and intense funeral doom track. And so it goes on and on. I'm not going into a song by song description because that would turn out to become and endless repetition of the words "funeral", "doom", "awesome" and "slow". I'm afraid that this is just one of those brilliant pieces of doom metal, highlighting numerous times ('The New End' is another one of those smashers). So yeah, I am really really really sorry but this album comes highly recommended for all fans of melodic doom metal.
Serge
Sullen Guest was formed in 2013 in the city of Vilnius. Since then, the quartet has been sending vile waves of riffs, drums and growls though innocent instruments. That sonic torture now results in a pulverizing doom metal album, one with an excellent blend of styles and influences. These days, doom metal is a surprisingly varied genre so this album could have gone either way. Yet, these guys have taken the slow, melodic and depressive path, something opener 'Dies Irae' immediately showcases. Without any need for intros or atmospheric meandering, this track quickly delivers the melodic riffs and methodical drums. The whole thing feels like a mix between Saturnus and Evoken, which I think is a good thing.
Most of the tracks on this album follow that example, with 'Altered State' being an absolute highlight. This is one of those songs that pushes an album into end-year lists and listeners into fans. My Dying Bride comes to mind here, without the violins but definitely a potential fan-favorite. 'Denial pt. 1' opens with grinding riffs before blasting out in a sluggish and intense funeral doom track. And so it goes on and on. I'm not going into a song by song description because that would turn out to become and endless repetition of the words "funeral", "doom", "awesome" and "slow". I'm afraid that this is just one of those brilliant pieces of doom metal, highlighting numerous times ('The New End' is another one of those smashers). So yeah, I am really really really sorry but this album comes highly recommended for all fans of melodic doom metal.
Serge
