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.