Released By : Solitude Productions
Genre : Funeral Doom Metal
Links : http://www.myspace.com/thehowlingvoid
Tracklist:
1. The Primordial Gloom
2. Shadows Over The Cosmos
3. Wanderer Of The Wastes
4. The Hidden Sun
5. Lord Of The Black Gulf
I must admit before I go too far into this review that the Funeral Doom genre is one that I really don’t have too much experience in and was very hesitant to write about this new release from THE HOWLING VOID. I do have plenty of experience in the standard Doom Metal genre, and Russian doom label SOLITUDE PRODUCTIONS was nice enough to send me through a copy of this album though so I thought I’d give it a crack.
The first thing I noticed was how slow the album is. I mean, I know Doom Metal is slow as it is, but SHADOWS OVER THE COSMOS takes it down another notch and is truly some of the slowest music I have ever heard. But, it is also some of the most emotional music I’ve ever listened to too and by the end of the album I was really feeling what the album is all about. The vocals were totally indecipherable but also worth reading along to, even though I got lost a couple of times. Music wise the synths take centre stage for much of the album and are predominant and prevalent even in places where it seemed to my ears that a more guitar oriented piece should be included. That’s not to say that there are no guitars present though, the doomy riffs are mostly excellent if not a bit too repetitive and the occasional lead break sparked my interest too. The length of the songs causes a few slight issues of repetition and a couple of times I found myself hoping the next song would kick in so I could hear something different.
If you are a dedicated fan of the Funeral Doom genre I have no doubt that SHADOWS OVER THE COSMOS will have plenty to offer, however, if you haven’t been convinced previously by other bands that play a similar style THE HOWLING VOID won’t be ones to sway you across either. SHADOWS OVER THE COSMOS is a very demanding and heavy-hearted album that takes a lot of patience to truly embrace, but is worth the effort in the long run.
Written By ZeeZe
Rating : 7/10
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