November is Doom- Fires in the Distance :" Air Not Meant For Us"

 

This band released an instrumental version of this album last month, but I got halfway into the first song of that version and felt like it needed vocals. The vocals were the kind of death growl I expected from these guys. The guitar melodies are melodramatic with an almost romantic sensibility to them, and plenty of synths to help flourish that almost orchestrated sound. Some powerful chugs help to balance things out. While they sound like a great deal of European death doom, what gives them their own personality are the heavier riffs which have more groove. 

Sure the piano parts that open songs like "Wisdom of Falling Leaves" are effective, but it's the fact they are not just hanging on the ambiance of melancholy. There is a time and a place for that and as a fan of goth metal that owes more to goth, but the riffs have a punchy that is not heard in bands like this. Not that the wheel is being reinvented in this regard, but it works well here. The songs are long epic affairs which I am sometimes not in the mood for. "Crumbling Pillars of a Tranquil Mind" simmers in the symphonic atmosphere a little too much, but it is not until "Adrift Beneath Lifeless Waves" that I begin to hear the influence of older Opeth on their sound. This might also factor in the hooky punch of the riffs.  Guitar solos and keyboards fill the space left by the lack of vocals.

"Psalm of the Merciless" falls comfortably back within the expected confine of death doom. The grit of the riffing leaned more on the side of death metal. Not the catchiest metal I have heard all week, but they do care about songwriting. The lyrics cut through this time and are not half bad. More Opeth influence with the imagery found in them. Their guitar solos also hold their own. The songs do have a similar feel, as it was not til just before the sampled section that the last song it felt like a new song and not "Psalm of the Merciless".  I will give this album an 8, it might not be the most original thing going , but it is very well done for what it is.Released on Prosthetic Records.