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Novembers Doom "To Welcome the Fade" CD
8/10 - [Dark Symphonies]
I had been waiting for this record ever since I first heard "The
Knowing", which totally blew me away. "To Welcome the Fade" continues in a
similar vein, though the band is definitely heading more in their own
direction this time out, shedding some of the obvious musical influences
(granted there are still many Opeth-isms herein) and adding more substance
to the "doom" tag. Things open incredibly powerfully with "Not the Strong",
a doom epic that paves the way for "Broken" - which brings in a lot of
dynamic shifts, including some clean riffing that has that token Novembers
Doom vibe, as well as some subtle female vocal textures. "Within My Flesh"
is a bit slower, starting out with nice acoustic guitars that lead into an
array of midpaced chord progressions that bring in a lot of creative melodic
devices, and "If Forever" is even what could be considered a "ballad" in
some ways - utilizing soft acoustic guitars and carefully executed
background synths with singing/spoken vocals and minimal percussion. Things
tend to take a more mellow turn towards the latter half of the record, with
a great deal more of the softer guitars and some excellent female lead vocal
appearances in both "The Spirit Seed" and "Torn". The production (handled by
producer extraordinaire Neil Kernon) is of course quite amazing. I don't
have any gripes. The bass is just a tad more audible than it was on the last
record (I'd still turn it up a bit to give more substance to the center of
the mix), the drums sound warm and full, the guitars are insanely crisp,
etc. Excellent work, and it's an HDCD to boot. The layout is not so unlike
that of their last album, using a lot of abstract imagery (with recognizable
elements) and consistent textures/colors throughout. There are plenty of
band photos and the text is crisp, my only minor complaint is that they
could have saved space by making everything a bit more compact. The font
used for the song titles is awesome, but the font used for the lyrics
doesn't work as well, and the text is slightly bulky - taking up a lot more
space than it needs too. The band photos (one member on every other page)
are also a bit large, I would have preferred to see more artwork, as
visually it's quite strong. Lyrically things run the emotional gamut from
shame to rage, and a glimmer of hope. However there are portions that
express pure contempt, ".I damn your life, And I pray you suffer long, And
all the angels turn their backs from the sight of your pitiful face, No god
will save your soul, For there is no love for you, You left all that behind
the day you learned to fucking speak." In the end it's very, very hard for
me to decide whether or not I like this record or "The Knowing" better.
Where "The Knowing" struck a nerve instantly, "To Welcome the Fade" takes
time to sink in - the more you listen to it, the more you appreciate it, and
the more its diversity shines through. I miss that immediate impact, though.
so, at least for now, I'd have to rank this a very close second to "The
Knowing". This is another stupendous release, however. Make no mistake.
Running time - 54:51, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Not the Strong, Broken, Torn]
