November is Doom - Counting Hours : "the Wishing Tomb"

 This Finnish band is made up of former members of Shape of Despair, primarily their guitarist. Not as bound to their sorrows as Shape of Despair, but they do keep things interesting, Dark, and moody but they know when to give it a more 90s Euro death metal flare. Less progressive than Opeth, but similar vibe in the vocal trade-off. If we are thinking "Ghost Reveries" era. There is a hopeful feeling to the vocal that wrestles against some of the more melancholic hints in the guitars. "Away I Flow" has a sweeping moment to the riff. The vocals snarl to life, and double bass falls in behind it, establishing the tone. The sung vocals however dominate the verses. The trade-off is not the predictable good cop / bad cop vocal formula. 

The drummer certainly wants to push this in a more metallic direction, before  "All that Blooms " takes a turn to a more doom-ridden direction. Growled vocals tend to form the narrative here. This album sounds great, these guys are all pros so that should not be surprising. While there is a more romantic sense of mourning to the song, it does not have the drive of the previous song letting it drift. "Starlit/ Lifeless" has more of the drive the first two songs set our expectations for. This one works better with the vocal melodies. The guitars are well-layered with more nuance chords ringing out. By the time I get to the title track, I can hear what the trend seems to be with this doom-oriented music coming out of Europe as this album is not unlike Swallow the Sun or the Aiwaz, album I just reviewed. Here there is more willingness to kick into double bass, and let the snarled vocals at so heading to the heavier end of the sub-genre spectrum. The vocals continue to switch over into sung passages.

I prefer singing to growling, but do not think it has to be the kinder gentler way. "No Closure' tried the other approach of having screamed vocals over more relaxed guitar melodies to remind you they are playing metal. :A Mercy Fall" is a more uptempo take on a similar concept with the sung vocals gliding over the double bass that sits back further in the mix. This feels very late 90s. "Well of Failures" ends the album with a marginally doomier tone. I think some of these brighter more produced guitar tones throw some of the mood off for me. I will give this a 9, as it falls in line for melodic doom-leaning metal. If you miss Early Opeth this might scratch that itch.Not as heavy as Shape of Despair but I do not see thir fans shunning this either.  

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