Place of Skulls The Black is Never Far
Exile on Mainstream Records EOMCD 021 May 1, 2006
By Rodrigo Escandon
Sometimes it is really great to have the expectations of an album be completely shattered once you start playing it. Coming into my first listen of The Black is Never Far I totally thought that the music would be closer to the funeral doom style of a band like My Dying Bride. Granted the name Place of Skulls, the title of the album, the bleak album cover and the fact that I had read somewhere that this was doom band were completely selling me into that direction. Boy was I wrong!
First of all, the bands name refers to the band leaders, Victor Griffin (whom I had no idea was involved in this band), Christian beliefs in that its the English translation of the Hebrew word Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified. The title track and Changed Heart have nothing to do with doom but rather with classic southern rock that would be more applicable in a Lynyrd Skynyrd album. But never fear the doom that is to be found in the album would make any fan of Black Sabbath, Pentagram and Saint Vitus quite happy.
Place of Skulls manages to mix up the faster songs (a la Neon Knights) such as Prisoners Creed, We the Unrighteous and Relentless with the more mid-tempo plodding tunes like Darkest Hour, Apart From Me and Masters of Jest. However, it is not as simple as saying that the 6 songs that I just mentioned are purely enveloped in doom because to a certain degree (be it by a solo or the singing style) all the songs in these album feature that southern rock flavor. If that isnt enough to keep you guessing on whats going on there is even a saxophone solo in Lookin For A Reason.
To be honest this isnt an album that I will find myself listening to very often but I cant argue or discredit the fact that Place of Skulls are good at what they do. This music is clearly American filled with honesty and emotion and there should be plenty of enjoyment for fans of this style of music. Shall we call it southern doom metal?
7/10
UMs Review Rating Scale
Place of Skulls Official Website
Exile on Mainstream Records
Exile on Mainstream Records EOMCD 021 May 1, 2006
By Rodrigo Escandon
Sometimes it is really great to have the expectations of an album be completely shattered once you start playing it. Coming into my first listen of The Black is Never Far I totally thought that the music would be closer to the funeral doom style of a band like My Dying Bride. Granted the name Place of Skulls, the title of the album, the bleak album cover and the fact that I had read somewhere that this was doom band were completely selling me into that direction. Boy was I wrong!
First of all, the bands name refers to the band leaders, Victor Griffin (whom I had no idea was involved in this band), Christian beliefs in that its the English translation of the Hebrew word Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified. The title track and Changed Heart have nothing to do with doom but rather with classic southern rock that would be more applicable in a Lynyrd Skynyrd album. But never fear the doom that is to be found in the album would make any fan of Black Sabbath, Pentagram and Saint Vitus quite happy.
Place of Skulls manages to mix up the faster songs (a la Neon Knights) such as Prisoners Creed, We the Unrighteous and Relentless with the more mid-tempo plodding tunes like Darkest Hour, Apart From Me and Masters of Jest. However, it is not as simple as saying that the 6 songs that I just mentioned are purely enveloped in doom because to a certain degree (be it by a solo or the singing style) all the songs in these album feature that southern rock flavor. If that isnt enough to keep you guessing on whats going on there is even a saxophone solo in Lookin For A Reason.
To be honest this isnt an album that I will find myself listening to very often but I cant argue or discredit the fact that Place of Skulls are good at what they do. This music is clearly American filled with honesty and emotion and there should be plenty of enjoyment for fans of this style of music. Shall we call it southern doom metal?
7/10
UMs Review Rating Scale
Place of Skulls Official Website
Exile on Mainstream Records
