Anguish
Mountain
Dark Descent Records
2014
Anguish returns with their sophomore release, two years after their debut album “Through the Archdemon’s Head”. Those who fancy traditional doom metal music have already checked them … even though these Swedes are not into trad doom metal in the actual term of the word. They surely follow the Candlemass, Solitude Aeternus & St. Vitus path, but they go astray at the doom-death side of this genre due to their “harsh” vocals. Not brutal or death screams… but just to have an idea they may somewhat remind you of the late Quorthon.
The songs are mostly mid or slow tempo but they do have some “faster” breaks from time to time. The doom metal formula is precisely followed without any “neoterisms” or “deviations”. Possibly, that’s the album’s “flaw” in my opinion. The guys offer some decent doom metal tracks, which are done “by the book” without adding anything new or personal to the final outcome. The production is heavy and doomy and the whole album addresses the doom metal freaks. There’s nothing other than that. If they wanna make a bigger “audience” opening, they need to make their sound more personal and blend their doom influences with other metal “ingredients”…
The songs are mostly mid or slow tempo but they do have some “faster” breaks from time to time. The doom metal formula is precisely followed without any “neoterisms” or “deviations”. Possibly, that’s the album’s “flaw” in my opinion. The guys offer some decent doom metal tracks, which are done “by the book” without adding anything new or personal to the final outcome. The production is heavy and doomy and the whole album addresses the doom metal freaks. There’s nothing other than that. If they wanna make a bigger “audience” opening, they need to make their sound more personal and blend their doom influences with other metal “ingredients”…