November is Doom -Alkymist : "Unnderr"

 I

 was a big fan of this band's 2020 album "Sanctuary". The Danish sludge masters are back with a more machine-like pounding this time as things have been dialed in production-wise. Vocally they do not conform to just your standard leather lunged roars the genre tends to default to. Things follow a more conventional metal flow on this album. The riffs have a more Meshuggah-like stomp to their groove. The opening track is dark enough for me, so that works, though the second and third songs ran together, I had to go back and give this another listen to fully wrap my head around it. They find a good balance of atmosphere on this that makes the heavy riffs more effective. 

'Diggin the Grave"starts off with an atmosphere not unlike the one established in the first song before rumbling into the chugged riff, It feels closer to rock-inspired metal than I recall hearing from these guys in the past. This is not to say to abandons bring the dense sludge as those riffs are still largely there even in this context. The third song works off a similar formula as the first song but indulges in the atmosphere more to create a creepier vibe. "Light of a Lost Star" works off a more conventional chug. It is still balanced out with melody and ambiance. This album is more accessible than the last one, and the songwriting is hookier without sacrificing heaviness as can be heard on "My Sick Part". I like the use of effects on the vocals in the verse. 

"Fire In My Eyes" reminds me of "Wolverine Blues" era Entombed.  "Masters of Disguise" works well enough I like the vocal shift, but they have been doing so much cool stuff on this album that the bar was held pretty high making this feel like filler. Overall this album is great, though is more straightforward nad adheres to some mainstream metal tropes that they give their own spin, I will give it a 9.