Discuss Reviews for "To Welcome the Fade"

[FuSoYa]

Ahem...

You guys have an extremely unique sound. You don't sound like My Dying Bride, or Anathema, or Paradise Lost (not mentioned in this thread, but I've heard the comparison a million times).

I hate reviewers who don't know what the fuck they are talking about.

(read: I hate 99.99999% of all reviewers)



In closing, To Welcome the Fade is a GREAT album. Unlike MDB, Anathema, and paradise Lost, Novembers Doom actually gets better with each new release.

 

[FuSoYa]

God, you don't sound ANYTHING like those bands. FUCK.

 

[FuSoYa]

And now, people compare our newest stuff to them as well.....except anyone who has heard our first and our newest cds will know that they sound ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ALIKE!

I agree. People, and especially journalists are lazy and give cop-out answers. I definitely agree with the appropriate apocalypse review - ND has a sound that borrows from no one. It pisses me off every time I hear you guys cmpared to other bands, because you're really underrated as far as unique sounding bands go.. y'all should get more recognition for that.

 

[FuSoYa]

yes. that pisses me right off.

 

[FuSoYa]

you can call me monkeyface!

 

[ProgMetalFan]

Originally posted by chupe666
producer Neil Kernon's [Hall & Oates

 

[ShadowLioness]

Bravo!! No MDB comparisons...a solid recognition of the bands' growth and obvious strengths. That was a good review Although I would add a couple different songs for the standouts

 

[ShadowLioness]

Gothic Metal???? Okay this guy even contradicts himself. Towards the beginning he says that the album is too heavy to be considered gothic metal, and then later on he says that he prefers the doomy sound as opposed to the gothic side.

I just had to laugh. To me, gothic is last word I would use to describe Novembers Doom.

 

[ShadowLioness]

That was better Though the mentioning of or the comparison to MDB seems to be a mainstay in almost every review, at least the "G" word wasn't uttered this time Thumbs up for his favorite song picks too..."The Spirit Seed" is one of mine as well

 

[ShadowLioness]

Originally posted by Novembers Paul
Somehow I doubt we'll ever beat the comparisons.....

I suppose it is the black cloud that follows Novembers Doom. I am not knocking MDB or any of the others by any means...I just think the point of comparison has been beaten and drilled into the ground. You'd think they'd come up with something new! Ah but then you get off the wall shit like reviewers calling the music "gothic"(still can't get over that one!)...guess ya just have to shrug it off

 

[chupe666]

She put my middle name in that review. I felt like my mother was talking to me.
"Eric Wayne Burnley, get that finger out of your nose NOW!!"

 

[chupe666]

from http://www.deadtide.com


I knew of Novembers Doom as a heartland doom band, high on My Dying Bride worship, and prone to the weaknesses of most doom bands, specifically, a lack of restraint in songwriting, and excessive melodrama. It's with some surprise that I listen now to "To Welcome the Fade," and hear a band finally finding it's soul.

Following up on three solid albums of decent doom, Novembers Doom lost bassist Mary Bielich to homesickness, got some spiritual encouragement from Trouble's Ron Holzner, brought in producer Neil Kernon's [Hall & Oates, Judas Priest, Nevermore, Cannibal Corpse], and spent some late Autumn days last year ensconced in the Sonic Ranch down in Texas, recording "To Welcome the Fade." I'm not sure which one or combination of those elements contributed to this rebirth, but a rebirth it certainly is.

From the outset, it's clear that they've mastered their game. Gone are the pointless plodding sections and evil vibes, and in their place we find emotional, despairing verses, triumphant choruses, galloping grooves that even Trouble would be proud of, and a sound that's both vast and intimate, with a strong focus on the rhythm section. The song structures are simpler and more focused, and Novembers Doom reap huge rewards for it. The use of female vocals, clean male vocals, spoken word passages [done well, for once], warm, softly overdriven texture guitars, and myriad of other details add depth to the mix and make the whole album worth listening to over and over again.

An entrancing album, and - at the risk of sounding sentimental - more than a little heartwarming to see a band that's worked so hard finally get it's just rewards.

MUXLOW


STANDOUT TRACKS

Broken
Lost in a Day
The Lifeless Silhouette
Dark Fields for Brilliance

 

[chupe666]

Larry likes Pyogenesis a bit, I believe. The one thing I remember liking the most (although I haven't heard much at all) from their recent albums was a cover of Toto's 'Africa' - done with breakbeat stuff and heavy guitars. Sounded pretty killer to me.

 

[chupe666]

Originally posted by FuSoYa
People, and especially journalists are lazy and give cop-out answers.

Like when motW are called "Jazz Metal" because you use horns?

 

[chupe666]

As it should.

But can I still call you Jazzy Jazzmeister Jazz?

 

[chupe666]

Originally posted by ProgMetalFan

LOL

Actually, I have my sister's copy of Private Eyes on vinyl that she got for Christmas after it came out. I was like 7 at the time! Although I'm sure Neil wouldn't appreciate that... but it's a piece of history for me, and therefore cool. Maneater rules.

 

[FrostGiant]

There's a lot of reviewers out there that hear a band sounds like so and so, and when they finally listen to the band and find out that said band has their own sound, they're disappointed. I never understand that.

I couldn't help feeling they went overboard with the acoustic parts ("If Forever" is completely acoustic).

He doesn't know what he's talking about. I thought the album has a very nice balance of acoustic and heavy parts. I especially like "If Forever" which leads into "The Spirit Seed". A lot of atmoshpere would have been lost, IMO, if the acoustic parts were cut down on.

And I'm with you. I can't tell if that was a good or bad review.

 

[FrostGiant]

For some reason people always need comparisons. Whenever someone asks me what Nevermore sounds like I always tell them Sanctuary but the joke is always wasted cuz the people who ask have no idea who Sanctuary was either.

 

[FrostGiant]

#3, #9, #10.

Lost in a Day
Dreams to Follow
Dark Fields for Brilliance


My favorite at this point in time are:

5, 6, 7 in order. They just just flow together so well.

That would be:

If Forever
The Spirit Seed
Torn

 

[Novembers Paul]

From www.thedarkesthours.com

After their brilliant 'The Knowing', Novembers Doom are back with their new opus, 'To Welcome the Fade'. In my opinion, they had a lot of work to do to make a better record than 'The Knowing' because I really really like this record! The question is, is it better? Well, I think that 'To Welcome the Fade' is as good as 'The Knowing'. They stick to their guns and gave us a wonderfull piece of work. Again, deep atmosphere, dark vide, depressive, beautiful melodies, melancholy...are the words that comes to my mind when I'm listening to that album. Clean male vocals, death vocals and female vocals are all blend together and that's again a great mix! The production is awesome, it sounds so powerfull! The killer melodies of 'Not the Strong', the atmosphere and angelic female vocals in 'Broken', the powergroove of 'Lost in a day', the darkness of 'Within my flesh' , the beautiful atmosphere and soft melodies that makes me dream in 'If forever' ,'Torn' & 'Dreams to Follow' and the closing, the doomiest track ever, 'Dark Fields of Brilliant', makes that album a true masterpiece....