Heavy Maytal - lIlwind : "the Unfolding at the End of Light"

 

This Peruvian doom band is not content sticking themselves in one sonic box, despite what you are led to believe going into the album with the more traditional doom feel of "Crimson Skies." The epic bellow of the sorrow-filled vocals is what anchors their place here, rather than if they were another growing funeral doom band or death doom band, sub-genres I enjoy when done right, but these guys are focusing on songwriting rather than checking off the expected boxes for what the cool kids in doom are doing these days, perhaps that is due to being from Peru, and having to live off 80s metal vinyl if they are in a region with no wi-fi. Whatever the case, they are rocking it here, even with the first song being over ten minutes as they are jamming out.  

There is a touh of Candlemass in what they do. "Wanderer" has more of a fuzzed-out stoner rumble to it. They know who both Electric Wizard and Pallbearer are in Peru, it seems. There is more dynamic ebb and flow here as the riffs expand and contract, rather than jsut jamming out into guitar solos like they did on the first song. "Portal" moves with more grace in its rumble to just feel like reverbed out classic metal. There is more of a rock progression here. They are not overt Sabbath worshippers whih is something I appreciate. The first hint of it lies in the blues-tinged rumble of " God of Sleep." I like what the vocals are doing, but it falls pretty solidly within the expected boundaries of doom. It is an almost nine-minute song, so it drags slightly. It builds into some haunting guitar melodies to create a more melancholic tapestry that makes you headbang to, but it's pretty effective. 

It takes a minute for them to get "Lucifer's Mule" going. It carries a more monolithic chug that drives it. They allow things to drift off into more atamosoere a few minutes in. The chug grounds this and is a good sonic weapon for their arsenal of sound. Five minutes in, things begin to shift. A bigger, more metal riff comes in to build it up. They modulate it from their into something with a more aggressive crunch. The emotive feeling to the vocals brings My Dying Bride to mind at times. The guitar solos flow out of the steady build with organic grace. 

They close the album with a sludged out cover of the Stooges' "I Wanna Be Your Dog' which seems like too obvious a choice. They do a good job with it andd I like how it's more deliberate to create a heavier tone. The vocals don't change their approach. I enjoyed this album; it was not predictable, though it did employ a few doom cliches, but was not chained to them. I will give it a 9. Dropping July 3rd on Personal Records