November is Doom- Skepticism : "Companion"

This album came out in September , but I held off for this month.  Six albums in 30 years is not what you would call prolific , but this band from Finland has built a rep for themselves and remains a name at the fore front of funeral doom. That does not mean this album is funeral doom, as the first song moves at more of a triumphant Paradise Lost pace. The vocals stay at throaty growl, to be honest you hear a lot of people refer to death metal vocals as Cookie Monster , but this sounds more like the Muppet for sure.  Within the first minute of "Intertwined" and they shift into a creeping palm muted riff that has a Tool feel. Not allowing themselves to be confined to doom works well for their songwriting. I can hear almost folk like guitar melodies on this one as it progresses. They do trudge into some heavier more oppressive riffing, but they sound more inspired when they break from what they have been doing for 30 years. 

The organ and hesitant drums that linger in the atmosphere are the first reminders of funeral doom. going into ' March of the Four". They kick into things in a way that will please long time fans of the genre as this is what they have likely been waiting for. They are good at it. His growl draws out the phrases with more resonance. The guitar might not be as fresh but every one is doing what is required of this sort of thing I think despite a change in sounds it is smart for the band to not just make an album of this sort of thing at this stage of their career. Like any genre it is a staple to hold their center , but not limit them. The guitars take on a darker more aggressive buzz with " Passage". They are not suddenly becoming a black metal band, but the guitars do take on that kind of evil feel. The chug they lock into beats Satyricon at  being Satryicon . When they bring in the slower doom passages they have more impact.  My favorite song so far. 

"the Inevitable" finds them well within their wheel house, but not making the same strokes with the same brush, The colors they choose circle the same spheres. Acoustic guitar books ends some phrases here and there, but not big surprises . They linger on the more melodic strum of guitar, the vocals growl into stagnation leaving the guitars to do all the heavy lifting and they seem up for the challenge, the Tool comparison could once again be used when it comes to the palm muted groove the bring to the table again . I will give this album a 9, it might be the most impressed I have ever been by these guys, normally the vocals are a sticking point but the songwriting wins out at the end of the day, doom bands to come could continue to learn from these guys in that regard.

Skepticism : "Ordeal"

Of course I am always on the hunt for more doom, funereal doom being my favorite form of the genre. The vocals have a weird monotone gurgle that sound like Cookie monster trying to sing rather than just the coookkkiiiieee growl, that most metal  vocalists do. Though the guitar melody reach a beautiful place of melancholy I am not able immerse myself in it as the vocals keep spoiling their music for me."The departure " has more of a funereal drone to it. The guitar lines that come out from behid the keyboards  are cool , but could stand to have a place in the mix that provides More punch. They ebb down on "March Incomplete" the minimalist drumming and hesitancy found in the guitar playing are the most characteristic elements of funereal doom. They are as oppressive in their sound as most other funereal doom bands.


Any issues with the mix have to be seen in the light of rather than going into  the studio  and tracking everything this album is recorded live in front of an audience, who you hear in-between songs. Things pick up on "The Road" the droning chaos in the attack bring older Burzum to mind. The zone it creates at one point put me to sleep with my finger on the keyboard. "Closing Music" touches on some really lush sounds that if coupled with something more oppressive might draw me in more. They begin to head in this direction with "Pouring" that finds the annoying element in the vocals either not as prominent or I got use to it and tuned it out.

"The March and the Stream" touching on the more despairing sonics that I want from this genre. The organ sound is dramatically creepy. There is a riff that sounds like it is building towards a chorus that is never going to come. Once I got over the vocals the album improved for me and lulled me into a trance. Once in this trance I could listen to the album rather effortlessly and for this reason I will round it up to a 6, the reason it's not higher is because the album could stand to pack more of a punch , since it's metal.
4.5