Hail Darkness : "Death Divine"

Around 2010 this kind of occult-inspired vest metal began to gather momentum. If you told me there was a world coming where Ghost was going to be bigger than Christian Mistress or the Devil's Blood, I would not have believed you. But that is where we are. However, it seems like this brand of retro-tinged doom is gaining more ground once again. Or perhaps just taking a peek up from the underground niche it carved, either case works for me as long as we have original ideas in motion. Lead singer Jez, has a commanding croon that sits them somewhere between Coven and Windhand. Her melodies are strong and slither well between the Sabbath-like lumber of the fuzzed-out riffs. 

They prove to him a more 60s flare to them by the end of the second song. I expected this to be a more straightforward doom-pounding so it's a nice surprise, without taking too far in the hippie direction. It is kind of Beatles-like at times, which is not something you can say about many bands of their ilk. They need more moments like this as it's clear if they just shuffle around with the traditional doom chords clanging out things might get stale sooner than later. They do switch things up into a more Charles Manson-like acid rock for "With Horns of a Beast". It wanders off in a proggy direction. "Goat of Mendes" lurches into a darker direction. It is still very Sabbath. Though she gets credit for doing her own thing vocals rather than trying to follow what Ozzy would do. 

The vocals feel like they are searching for their place in "Coven of the Wicked One" which smoothes on what is the second verse as the song finds its groove. Some of the solo sections on this album are jammed out in a pretty organic fashion, though none of the solos really wow me, but they work for what they are. I just got to wonder how these folk parts are transitioned into a live setting. The more traditional approach to doom on "Azarak!". The guitar solo goes into more of a Hawkwind-like reverb that is also pretty effective.  We are back in the more breezy 60s style of hippy pop going into "Eyes White Black Soul". It's like Lana Del Rey meets "Rosemary's Baby". "See You In Hell" is not the Grim Reaper song. It is a turn back toward the more Sabbath-infused doom boogie. There is a more jammed feel to this one. They are almost halfway into the song before the vocals make their mark. I will give this album a 9, as it sounds great and tries new things with the genre to break it from a rut. 

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