This review was emailed to me this evening, and I'm honestly blown away by this. I can only hope for more of this to come! haha!
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Novembers Doom
The Pale Haunt Departure (2005)
The End Records
10 out of 10
I've have been into the metal scene for a long time, and a fan of many styles of music, from Death metal, Progressive metal, Power metal, Metal core, Industrial, and Doom. Many CD's cross my desk daily, and I do my best to listen to them, and write a fair review of what I hear. My ears have been graced with so much amazing talent through the years, and my love for music occasionally leaves me with something from time to time that is an impressive mark, or a wound, so deeply, that it will be with me forever. 'The Pale Haunt Departure' is that CD.
I have enjoyed Novembers Doom's music in the past, and the bands last work, 'To Welcome the Fade' struck me as a struggle of a great band, not sure what direction they needed to head in. With songs like "Not the Strong" pounding in the heavy side of things, to the strangely out of place "Torn," which was a serious blemish on this disc. Helmed by Neil Kernon, the production was beyond fantastic, and helped Novembers Doom create a sometimes brilliant, and sometimes lost sounding CD.
Needless to say, I had anticipated this CD for quite some time, and it was so worth the wait. I will try to elaborate on each song if I can, and give you a better idea on what gems you will find here.
The CD starts, and an amazingly creepy vibe overcomes you as voices, beautiful voices, send shivers up your spine. I jumped up, and turned down the lights, as this was going to help set the mood of what was to come. The title track, "The Pale haunt Departure" is what just started, and after several seconds of this eerie voice comes a thundering tribal type beat. Then a glimpse of heavy guitar. The build up in the first 30 seconds has already put my mind in a state of chill, and when the guitars come in, it's a punch to the face of heavy, crunching, and a loud wall of sound. It set's a standard here, and commands your attention. When the song is in full swing, the real treat for me was Paul Kuhrs growls. I have never heard him sound like this before. In my opinion, he has always been one of the very best at what he does, but this is so much more. It's as if he's found a deeper and more comfortable place to sing from, and it will scare you. The song is relentless, and never lets up, only for a drum and bass entwined build up to more abuse. This could easily become the bands standard song. I am blown away, and baby, we're on track number 1!
The second track, "Swallowed By the Moon" starts with a beautiful soft section, and some spoken word moments before it launches into a crunchy, metal onslaught. This song is very memorable, with some stunning guitar work from both Vito Marchese, and Larry Roberts, who both play as tightly as a machine. Then a section of the song surprises me. I guess you can call it the chorus. It utilizes Paul kuhrs clean vocal style, and sounds amazing, from start to finish. This song is fantastic. One element I must address are the lyrics of this song. If I read into this correctly, this is simply one of the most depressing songs I have read. Saying goodbye to a loved one, especially a child is always hard to do, and when you read these lyrics, you will be changed on the inside. Absolutely brilliant.
"Autumn Reflection" is one of two songs on this CD that will stand out from the others. Not for being a lost duck, like some songs on previous Novembers Doom CD's, this song will stand out because of the pure talent this song has captured. For a safe label, I'll call this their power ballad. Don't mistake this for a wimpy, whining love song though. "Autumn Reflection" is absolutely beautiful all the way through. The guitar players have managed to capture a sense of urgency in this song, and every bit of emotion they have, drip from every note. This song is very mellow, and at times, rises up with strength and distortion to reach you by the throat, and hold your breath still until the song ends. Again, vocally, this is easily Paul Kuhrs best work to date. The sadness in his voice allows you to truly believe what he's saying, and it leaves the listener with a tremendous feeling of hope. I actually had to wipe my eyes after this one.
When the next song starts, a strong drive takes over, and we're launched into the rocking "Dark World Burden." This song explodes with energy, and it's up tempo rhythm forces you to move your head up and down. Growling vocals, and a cleanly sung chorus section rounds this song out nicely, and even ends with a pleasant surprise. Dan Swano graces the disc with a guitar solo, right out of Moontower, or Edge of Sanity. It's placed perfectly, and was really a nice touch to this song.
As if track number 1 were not enough to scare you, "In the Absence of Grace" begins with an odd sounding, clean guitar, maybe acoustic, intro, and without warning, you're hit with a song, so powerful, it will give "The Pale Haunt Departure" a good fight. This song is dark and creepy, and yes, extremely heavy. I am hooked into this beast instantly, as it's fangs clamp onto my head. This is an 8 minute beating of the heaviest kind. An aural punishment for thinking I knew what heavy was. The metal gods are smiling at Novembers Doom for this song.
"The Dead Leaf Echo" begins while I'm still cleaning my shorts out from the last track. This song, to my best musical experience, is very straight forward. Probably the most obvious song on the disc. I say this because it sounds like what I expected from this band to produce this time around. Certainly not a disappointment in any way. Let me put it this way. This song could have been one of the best if it were on 'To Welcome the Fade.' On this CD, the bar has been raised, the songs all shine, and this ones job is to put you in a comfort zone, where any fan of the bands will enjoy.
One of the most thought provoking, and lyrically beautiful songs on this CD is 'Through a Child's Eyes.' When the music starts, you can hear a child's laughter, accompanied by an acoustic guitar, and sets up a moment of serenity. I instantly thought of "If Forever" from the bands last CD, 'To Welcome the Fade' when the drums came in. I thought "If Forever" was brilliant, but this song almost left me speechless. I don't have the words to describe it's beauty, and sadness. This is a perfect example of dynamics in music, and depth in a song. You feel as if you are sitting in a room, and the band is playing this just for you. Almost campfire like, this will take you to another place, and make you think. A perfect way to capture a moment and deliver it for all of us to enjoy.
With a devastating punch, "Collapse of the Falling Throe" starts, and and a smile appears on my face. This is old school Novembers Doom. A slow, heavy, and brutal intro riff thunders along in a way, any doom metal fan will rejoice in. As the song progresses, a heavy epic feeling overwhelms you, and holds your attention with ease. Spoken word passages, mixing with growling, and a very moody guitar line carries it all along. Then, something happens. Just when you get comfortable into the song, and think you have it all figured out, there's a moment of clarity, followed by a surge of energy, that builds up to a very proud feeling moment. The end of this song really drives the CD home, and is a perfect choice to end on.
This is easily the best vocal performance to date by Paul Kuhr. The power of his growls, and the beauty of his clean voice carries this CD from start to finish. The guitar work from Larry Roberts and Vito Marchese never once sound forced, and are performed with clarity, and amazing power. This could not be a better mix of guitar players. The Bass guitar is simple, yet fitting for this CD. Mike LeGros shows us that a strong, steady bass line will cement the foundation of the CD, and lock it down for the notes to resonate. Joe Nunez sounds like a machine, with the precision of his hands and feet. Songs like the title track are as powerful as it is because of this. Very solid, and steady as he drives this monster for almost an hour. The production on this CD is stellar. Being a fan of Neil Kernons, when I heard this was being mixed by Dan Swano, I instantly thought that this would be a mistake, not that I dislike Dan Swanos work, but I felt "To Welcome the Fade" was so perfect for Novembers Doom, production wise, that this change would be career suicide. I was wrong. I was so very wrong, in fact, that I believe this sounds superior to Mr Kernons work in every way. Dan Swano has managed to capture what this band has lacked, and to be honest, I didn't know what that was until I listened to 'The Pale Haunt Departure.' This CD has life, and it will shine above and beyond not only any release Novembers Doom have recorded, but shine above every release on their label, The End Records. This folks, is as close to perfection as you can come.
Reviewed by Dan K. - Freelance writer and metal reviewer
