Spiritus Mortis : " the Year is One"

The first thing that hits me about this band from Finland is ex Reverend Bizarre singer Albert Witchfinder has a better voice than I expected. This phrasing reminds me of an older Geddy Lee, though his voice hover's around a mid range with a touch of grit to it. While I prefer clean vocals in metal or any music, there is a very delicate balance that must be achieved or it's easy to fall into the mire of cheese and come across sounding like one of the many power-metal band's that can't shake the ghost of the 80s. Albert is clearly a tenor, but uses a great deal of restraint rather than yodeling all over the place. "I am the Name On Your Funeral Wreath" is a more morning form of doom, but doesn't have the same power of the more up tempo first song.

There is more focus and almost a more Candlemass thing going on for the driving "Babylon Working". Lyrically there seems to be some interest in the occult, though the lyrics seems to be more of a dabbling notion. Harsher vocals begin to creep in a little.  The chug of "Jesus Christ, Son of Satan" is pretty powerful. "Holiday in the Cemetery"begins to cast a little light as to why this band is not at their strongest when slowing down to get more morbid. While the singer's voice is a selling point, when he drops into lower keys it often sounds like he doesn't know what to do with himself. Finding his real inner evil and not just the lyrical content is where Albert needs to find his way to. This wandering vocal makes the nine minute "Holiday in the Cemetery" feel every second of nine minutes. The organ sound on this song helps the atmosphere, and as it progresses finds them capturing the needed mood to move in a direction that convinces me they are into necrophilia.

They are more convincing in their intentions to be a doom band on "She Died A Virgin". The lyrics to this one are a little more of a mystery. Not as dynamic as some of the other songs, they are effective at dragging you with them. "Black Magic , White Powder", deals with the subject matter more seriously than say "Snow Blind". I am back to hearing the older Geddy Lee in the phrasing. "World of No Light" doesn't really seem sure of it's self , like Albert came in an over dubbed the vocals without ever playing it live in the same room with the rest of the band, and judging by the fact they are playing  only one show for the rest of the year, It is more than likely a fair assessment. Overall if you are looking for doom in the realms of classic metal then these guys are for you I'll give the album an 8.5.

Lord Vicar : "Gates of Flesh"

Going through my in-box and checking out any and all doom oriented music that might be hiding out there. That is when I this diamond in the rough. Former Reverend Bizarre guitarist Kimi Karki is wandering the graveyards of Finland to conjure up something that is more gloomy than down, in fact it sounds like really depressive stoner rock. On board are former Count Raven vocalist and the drummer from Centurions Ghost. The second song is more rock n roll and not as dark as the smooth opener which drew me in with an almost Katatonia like quality. The darkness rolls in for the interlude "A Shadow of Myself " to pave the way for the next proper song "Breaking the Circle". This one carries more weight to the fuzzed out guitars. The vocals are like a more fluid version of what Lee Dorian does mixed with a little My Dying Bride.

These guys made a concerted effort to keep the songs to around the six minute mark, so if you are like me and done with the whole 13 plus minute droning style of doom that became popular over the course of the past five or six years then you'll find these songs more focused. They capture all the melancholy you could want from doom even touching up the mourning funereal doom like sadness in spots, though the more conventional rock infused beginnings of the genre is where this is bred from. They march on into the moderately more up-tempo "Accidents" that lurches back into a more solemn pace when the verse kicks in."A Woman Out of Snow " finds the vocals doing their best My Dying Bride impersonation for what is more of a ballad, falling closer to Pink Floyd than "Home Sweet Home". This does create a more powerful dynamic for when they kick back in and makes it one of the albums more interesting songs in terms of the colors they paint with here. Rather than go the typical way with the heavier build it's used as a bridge for the solo and the vocals do no return until things die back down.

They close on their most metallic note with "Leper, Leper".  There is a more morose lethargy draped over this song. The vocals are at the forefront of the mix, which in this case takes a little weight off off the riff's impact, I think if they sat back further in the guitars this would not be the case. Here I can understand the argument against clean vocals in metal, though for the bulk of the album they have proven this to not be the case. Overall this album is a solid piece of conventional doom that keeps a solemn course along the post-Sabbath path adorned with gothic finery like something from a Hammer Horror movie so I'll give it an 8.