From: http://www.whitetrashdevil.com
Review by Gloomchen
It would be far too easy to say "Listen If You Like My Dying Bride" when talking about Novembers Doom. Luckily, the band is smart enough to point out their own similarites before everyone can call them blatant followers or copycat artists. Oh yeah, they sound a lot like Anathema, too. Glad I got that out of my system.
It's easy to be cynical and quick to say, hey, they're Americans. Not only that, but they're from the midwest (Chicago, to be exact). Who in the hell are they to have any sort of connection to a death/black scene? Well, as a fellow midwesterner, let me just say that all of the suffering and pain in Novembers Doom's lyrics could not possibly more readily experienced by people living in another part of the US, maybe even the world. It's a sad, sad existence in the middle of nowhere. It's only natural that we would find comfort in the music of entire countries that live like us.
Slow and dark, To Welcome The Fade encapsulates touches of symphonic doom with the mid-to-older sounds of... bands I mentioned previously. It's not nearly as adventurous as their more well-known contemporaries have become, but it's a sound that has proven time and time again to be an influence and a favorite among the death community. Not only that, but these guys do it pretty damn well. There's no lack of songwriting skill -- nothing sticks out throughout the entire album like a sore thumb. Solid throughout, it's easily sure to be an emphatic recommendation by people who like... those other bands. Christ, is it even possible to describe these guys without coming back to those damn Brits?
To mention "highlights" of the album almost seems like blasphemy, as there is nothing either high or lit about the entire disc -- this is a crawl in the corner, mope, and lament album. Although one might be fooled by the tempo of the opening track "Not the Strong," after that, it's all sludge. "Broken," "Dark Fields For Brilliance," and "The Spirit Seed" are all pure tragedies, epic in length and sound. But overshadowing all of those, "The Lifeless Silhouette" is even more brutally dismal, nearly an inspiration for some grand murder/suicide. It just doesn't get any darker and abysmal than that.
The only real complaint about the album would be lyrically. With an easily understandable growl, it's a little too easy to find the ridiculous among the band's otherwise decent wordsmith skills. With Linkin Park in mind, I have to force back a chuckle when I hear, "I WISH MY MOTHER KNEW THE REAL ME" in "Not the Strong." Barring these moments of Geocities-esque poetic blundering, there's plenty of talk of blood and mutilation among the suffering and sorrow to make up for the occasional slip. Still, one would hope that someone out there is taking notes and in the future will spare us from the musings of Angsty McWhiner, Age 15.
There may be nothing particularly new or innovative among the work of Novembers Doom, but if you know what you like and you want more of what you like, To Welcome The Fade can't disappoint. You know, if you like My Dying Bride. In case you didn't catch that the first time around.
Here's her picture...
her favorite bands are: Dream Theater, Chroma Key, The Gathering, Björk, Depeche Mode, Anthrax, Wumpscut, Apocalyptica, Babes In Toyland, Pink Floyd, Black Crowes, that dog., White Zombie, Oomph!, Led Zeppelin, Galactic Cowboys, Madonna, Sepultura, Rush, Fates Warning, Blind Melon, Stahlhammer, Queensrÿche, Front Line Assembly, Amorphis, Blümchen, Cathedral, Haujobb, L7, Mentallo & the Fixer, Liz Phair, Trouble, Weezer/The Rentals, Spock's Beard, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and MOTHERFUCKING PHIL COLLINS, YEAH!
And if you would like to respond to this FINE review, to agree , or to tall her differently, write her at: gloomchen@whitetrashdevil.com
Review by Gloomchen
It would be far too easy to say "Listen If You Like My Dying Bride" when talking about Novembers Doom. Luckily, the band is smart enough to point out their own similarites before everyone can call them blatant followers or copycat artists. Oh yeah, they sound a lot like Anathema, too. Glad I got that out of my system.
It's easy to be cynical and quick to say, hey, they're Americans. Not only that, but they're from the midwest (Chicago, to be exact). Who in the hell are they to have any sort of connection to a death/black scene? Well, as a fellow midwesterner, let me just say that all of the suffering and pain in Novembers Doom's lyrics could not possibly more readily experienced by people living in another part of the US, maybe even the world. It's a sad, sad existence in the middle of nowhere. It's only natural that we would find comfort in the music of entire countries that live like us.
Slow and dark, To Welcome The Fade encapsulates touches of symphonic doom with the mid-to-older sounds of... bands I mentioned previously. It's not nearly as adventurous as their more well-known contemporaries have become, but it's a sound that has proven time and time again to be an influence and a favorite among the death community. Not only that, but these guys do it pretty damn well. There's no lack of songwriting skill -- nothing sticks out throughout the entire album like a sore thumb. Solid throughout, it's easily sure to be an emphatic recommendation by people who like... those other bands. Christ, is it even possible to describe these guys without coming back to those damn Brits?
To mention "highlights" of the album almost seems like blasphemy, as there is nothing either high or lit about the entire disc -- this is a crawl in the corner, mope, and lament album. Although one might be fooled by the tempo of the opening track "Not the Strong," after that, it's all sludge. "Broken," "Dark Fields For Brilliance," and "The Spirit Seed" are all pure tragedies, epic in length and sound. But overshadowing all of those, "The Lifeless Silhouette" is even more brutally dismal, nearly an inspiration for some grand murder/suicide. It just doesn't get any darker and abysmal than that.
The only real complaint about the album would be lyrically. With an easily understandable growl, it's a little too easy to find the ridiculous among the band's otherwise decent wordsmith skills. With Linkin Park in mind, I have to force back a chuckle when I hear, "I WISH MY MOTHER KNEW THE REAL ME" in "Not the Strong." Barring these moments of Geocities-esque poetic blundering, there's plenty of talk of blood and mutilation among the suffering and sorrow to make up for the occasional slip. Still, one would hope that someone out there is taking notes and in the future will spare us from the musings of Angsty McWhiner, Age 15.
There may be nothing particularly new or innovative among the work of Novembers Doom, but if you know what you like and you want more of what you like, To Welcome The Fade can't disappoint. You know, if you like My Dying Bride. In case you didn't catch that the first time around.
Here's her picture...
her favorite bands are: Dream Theater, Chroma Key, The Gathering, Björk, Depeche Mode, Anthrax, Wumpscut, Apocalyptica, Babes In Toyland, Pink Floyd, Black Crowes, that dog., White Zombie, Oomph!, Led Zeppelin, Galactic Cowboys, Madonna, Sepultura, Rush, Fates Warning, Blind Melon, Stahlhammer, Queensrÿche, Front Line Assembly, Amorphis, Blümchen, Cathedral, Haujobb, L7, Mentallo & the Fixer, Liz Phair, Trouble, Weezer/The Rentals, Spock's Beard, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and MOTHERFUCKING PHIL COLLINS, YEAH!
And if you would like to respond to this FINE review, to agree , or to tall her differently, write her at: gloomchen@whitetrashdevil.com
You noticed that too? hahah!
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
