Written by Muloc, metal-archive.com 31/12-07Reviews for The Wizard of Doom's His Eternal Rage of Inner Nature
Write a review for this release.
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High quality doom-death - 83%
Written by Muloc7253 on December 31st, 2007
When I first picked up this album, I didn't really expect very much of interest. A picture colour-edited on paintshop and excessive use of the 'chiller' font pretty much set up the idea of a rough and underdeveloped doom demo that would probably end up getting a 'decent' from me, with maybe a 60% rating maximum.
Which is why i'm pretty stunned to be writing a review for an awesome doom-death album! Really, don't judge a damn book by it's cover, because an album of amateur, rushed bedroom music this is not! Wizard of Doom is the project of one man, Mikkel Refsahl, who according to the archives is involved in no other projects but Wizard of Doom, which is also a huge surprise because 'His Eternal Rage of Inner Nature' is a highly professional recording.
Also, just because this is labelled as doom-death, please do not expect this to be a My Dying Bride style journey. There is nothing really romantic or tragic about this, instead Wizard of Doom take much more of a vicious route. The fact that Mikkel is Swedish may have something to do with this, as I do hear some parallels with the old Stockholm sound of Entombed and Dismember in the riffing, leadwork and vocals, but crossed with a slow, atmospheric doom sensibility not unlike early Reverend Bizarre.
The guitarwork is what stands out the most here. The rhythms are heavy and crunchy, either droning or slowly chugging along, providing the stellar leadwork some foundation. Mikkel is an excellent guitarist, as is clearly evident in the various solos and leads spliced about among the tracks. Listen to Captured Soul for instance, after about one minute in, and take note of the beautifully written melodies that seep through the air over the heavy chords beneath. Vocalwise, Mikkel ranges from a traditional (mid-pitched) death growl to the occasional whisper to some clean vocals used sparingly in a few choruses (Appease the Desire for instance). There is the occasional narrative spoken section, such as in the aforementioned Captured Soul, although this never lasts long. There are keyboards used occasionally aswell, but they accent the music, not carry it, which is good.
The production leaves something to be desired. Okay, so it's not a perfect album, but considering this is just a demo I can only start to think what an actual album might be like. The guitars are a little too buzzsaw for this kind of music, and while it works well at first, it begins to take it's toll as the second track starts. There's also a distinct lack of bass due to this, and although the atmosphere is very...well, atmospheric as it is, a deep bass sound is essential for this kind of music, and all the songs here would benefit highly from a better mix and a more significant low end sound.
Besides a bit of a scratchy production this is a very well-written piece of doom death, and is actually a pretty unique one too. Keep an eye out for Wizard of Doom, I can see this project becoming very popular in doom circles soon.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Wizard of Doom's page ~ His Eternal Rage of Inner Nature ~ Reviews archives
Write a review for this release.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
High quality doom-death - 83%
Written by Muloc7253 on December 31st, 2007
When I first picked up this album, I didn't really expect very much of interest. A picture colour-edited on paintshop and excessive use of the 'chiller' font pretty much set up the idea of a rough and underdeveloped doom demo that would probably end up getting a 'decent' from me, with maybe a 60% rating maximum.
Which is why i'm pretty stunned to be writing a review for an awesome doom-death album! Really, don't judge a damn book by it's cover, because an album of amateur, rushed bedroom music this is not! Wizard of Doom is the project of one man, Mikkel Refsahl, who according to the archives is involved in no other projects but Wizard of Doom, which is also a huge surprise because 'His Eternal Rage of Inner Nature' is a highly professional recording.
Also, just because this is labelled as doom-death, please do not expect this to be a My Dying Bride style journey. There is nothing really romantic or tragic about this, instead Wizard of Doom take much more of a vicious route. The fact that Mikkel is Swedish may have something to do with this, as I do hear some parallels with the old Stockholm sound of Entombed and Dismember in the riffing, leadwork and vocals, but crossed with a slow, atmospheric doom sensibility not unlike early Reverend Bizarre.
The guitarwork is what stands out the most here. The rhythms are heavy and crunchy, either droning or slowly chugging along, providing the stellar leadwork some foundation. Mikkel is an excellent guitarist, as is clearly evident in the various solos and leads spliced about among the tracks. Listen to Captured Soul for instance, after about one minute in, and take note of the beautifully written melodies that seep through the air over the heavy chords beneath. Vocalwise, Mikkel ranges from a traditional (mid-pitched) death growl to the occasional whisper to some clean vocals used sparingly in a few choruses (Appease the Desire for instance). There is the occasional narrative spoken section, such as in the aforementioned Captured Soul, although this never lasts long. There are keyboards used occasionally aswell, but they accent the music, not carry it, which is good.
The production leaves something to be desired. Okay, so it's not a perfect album, but considering this is just a demo I can only start to think what an actual album might be like. The guitars are a little too buzzsaw for this kind of music, and while it works well at first, it begins to take it's toll as the second track starts. There's also a distinct lack of bass due to this, and although the atmosphere is very...well, atmospheric as it is, a deep bass sound is essential for this kind of music, and all the songs here would benefit highly from a better mix and a more significant low end sound.
Besides a bit of a scratchy production this is a very well-written piece of doom death, and is actually a pretty unique one too. Keep an eye out for Wizard of Doom, I can see this project becoming very popular in doom circles soon.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Wizard of Doom's page ~ His Eternal Rage of Inner Nature ~ Reviews archives