November is Doom - Morne : "Engraved With Pain"

 I reviewed this Boston band's 2018 and it got an 8. Making it better than the bulk of sludge coming out that year. The vocals were their weak spot as they defaulted to the obligatory throaty roar. This album starts off without much changing in that regard, though there is more layers of atmosphere and nuance coming from the guitars as they crash into things with even more apocalyptic fury than before. The first song is almost 11 minutes long and uses this doomsaying momentum to keep my attention even though they pretty much just drone off the heavy throb they lock into. As with most heavy bands, the sheer sonic weight proves to be impressive enough to demand your attention. 

It is not until the second song that I begin to ask more of the songwriting, as heaviness alone is not enough to make an album interesting enough to occupy my time. Since 2018 I have digested a great deal of sludge so things that might have impressed me about this band, I have heard a great deal over the past five years. The second song builds more momentum which is less impressive to me than how they let the song breathe by ringing out eerie chords. This is really what helps it to establish it's own identity outside of what we already heard from these guys on the first song. I am seven minutes into this ten-minute song when I begin looking at the clock, meaning it might have more melodic value but does not hold my attention as well. Perhaps this has something to do with the monotone howl of the vocals that begins to bore me halfway into the second song. 

"Wretched Empire' works because it makes the most of a chugged groove. It is hard not to bang your head on it. The vocals seem more fitting here, though the guitar grabs most of your attention. They form a powerful wall of sound with this one. The riff reminds me of early Mastodon. "Fire and Dust' is not as compelling, it broods in a slower more doom-inflected crunch, that is not melodic or melancholy enough to pique my interest and a clear case of where a different vocal color is needed. At the eight-minute mark, they shift into a riff that reminds me more of "When the Levee Breaks" in terms of moving with more groove. But the rule here is cool riffs alone does not a good song make. I will give this an 8.5, because I feel sonically this is an improvement over their last album as the guitars really try harder and compensate for the vocals. 

Morne : " To the Night Unknown"

Boston's Morne is a sludge band that knows how to get in a groove. The throaty vocal come in with the kinda roar that is typical for this sort of thing falling somewhere between old Mastodon and Neurosis. More upbeat than Neurosis thus the Mastodon comparison comes in. Feedback screams out of their dense guitar tone like pieces of shrapnel. "Not Our Flame" mixes a more melodic blend of heavy chugged sludged out metal. The drums are almost death metal with the big wall of double bass they churn out. These guys are really good at keeping you hooked in with catchy riffs. "The Blood Is Our Own" more deliberate with the guitars giving the song a little more room to breathe. The vocals don't occupy this space any differently than there barked delivery employed in the first few songs. The song kind drones on it's own throb and dynamically proves to be a one trick pony.

"Scorn" is apocalyptically heavy in much the same way Neurosis' "Through Sliver and Blood" is, though it defaults to more of a metal chug then the kind of density Neurosis tends to employ. There is a slower and darker sense of melody to the guitars on "Show Your Wounds". The drums provide more motion to "Night Awaits the Dawn". With slight shifts in the groove this song rides it pretty much coasts along until a moodier more atmospheric shift develops. The last two songs find the more mournful undertone beginning to surface and has them leaning in the direction of doom with of the two songs finds "Surrendering Fear coming the close to the darkness even though the verse riff to the song also finds the band at their most emotionally soaring.

I'll give this album an 8. There are well constructed riffs that go beyond the rule of "cool riffs alone do not a good song make" and weave them into something with a very connected mood. I prefer the more melodic moments and the vocals are their weak spot limiting the overall sound to being pretty uniform at times. If you are looking for some sludge more rooted in metal than crust punk then this is a band worth your time.