Forn : "Weltschmerz"

This Boston's take on doom is both woefully melodic as well as full of caustic abrasion so it will please both fans of Eyehategod and the sludge ridden emotive brands of the genre. Even though the second song is labelled as the second part of the first song  and the last song is the second part of the third song , They keep their songs under ten minutes which is impressive for a doom band. The vocals are the harshest element, the scream out from behind a cloak of reverb dialed back in the shadows of the mix. The second song finds the band exploring atmospherics in a very minimalist manner. The mix of this album is very unique and helps capitalize on what the band is going dynamically. The only time I ever suspect this Boston band might boast Berklee alumni is when it gets to some of sounds the guitar pours out. There is something very jazz like to them even though this sounds nothing like Return to Forever, but in how space and sonics are used so cleanly from a genre that normally lets the feed back and distortion do all the talking.

The only down side to this album is by the third song I had lost track of where they were beginning and ending as it all ran together. There are some slight modulations in the accents  and time of the growls, though the guitars really hold all the keys when in comes to their song writing. The ebb and flow isn't predictable , but they have a formula in place for sure. The vocal volley back and forth between a scalding throat scraping and a low death gurgle. While there is a certain grim dissonance to their sound the band is content with being just a doom band with no blackened aspirations despite the tags on their Bandcamp page. The closing song works more off noise and atmosphere than ending thing with a more metallic climax which is a little disappointing.

While the last song certainly could have contributed more to the overall feel of the album, what they do they are good at and I will keep them on my radar in hopes to hear them really live up to what this album wants to promise. I'll give it a 7.5, if you are less picky in regards to you doom and don't want anything more than dark and heavy then go ahead and round this one up.