November Doom - Silvertomb :"Edge of Existence"

This is one half of Type O Negative. Kenny Hickey who would always be the higher snarly vocal in songs like "Black No 1" handles the vocals and guitar for this band and John Kelley is on drums. This one is a good example that doom doesn't not have to be slow all the time. There is a grunge feel in places and by that I mean Soundgarden. The doom in their veins is more obvious on the first song. They do not play it as safe as A Pale Horse Called Death. There are a great deal of varying sounds making this up. The only weak spot I can hear in their sound is the lyrics. They seem like if you took the lyrics from "Slow Deep and Hard" and tried to edit them to fit a more mainstream audience. The title alone of "Love Without No Lies" typifies what we are working here. But not unlike some of the lyrical content of "Louder than Love" . There is a great deal of slithering groove simmering over the darker mood.

A Pale Horse Called Death sounds closer to Type O Negative, but I can appreciate Hickey is not trying to really recapture that. "So True" is more of a thrasher. I like the way the vocals glide over it. The a minute and a half into it the song slows into a melodic section. These veterans know the art of employing dynamics in songwriting in a way that is not done like it used to be. This does sound like it could have come straight from the 90s.  The keyboards really give this is texture it needed. "Not Your Savior" is more straight forward and rock n roll. "One Of You" is more ominous and doomy, with some great guitar playing.  Screaming 'suicide over and over seems a little heavy handed , but the rest of the song compensates for this. It is at this point in the album it begins to feel like a concept album.

They stay with a doomy stomp as Hickey wails and screams between forming some actual interesting Melodies "Requiem" has an excellent chorus. The strummed "Waiting" is more grunge thus warranting the Soundgarden comparisons, though it also reminds me of Mindfunk at bit, if you are old enough to know who they are.  I will round this album up to a 9.5, it reminds me of better days.