Released By : Dirty & Weird Music/Non Stop Music
Genre : Doom Metal, Death Metal
Links : http://www.myspace.com/excruciationdoom
Tracklist :
01. Raptus
02. Dignitas
03. A Dying Sun
04. 67 (An Interlude)
05. December 12
06. Dust : A Prelude
07. Vultures
08. Faith Of The Discarded
09. I Hail You
10. And The Dead Start To Breathe Again
It’s been a long, hard road for Switzerland based doom metallers EXCRUCIATION, and regardless of past issues it seems the band is making one last bid at moving forward.
The band has actually been around since about 1987, but they did split up in 1991 in this time they had released a couple of E.P’s that whilst still doom metal in essence, had a closer connection to the typical thrash metal sound of the day. Then out of the blue in 2005, fourteen years after their initial split they reformed and released an E.P titles ARISE followed by their first ever proper full length album in 2007 titled ANGELS TO SOME, DEMONS TO OTHERS. Truthfully though, neither of those releases really gained the band any recognition and to this day they remain largely unknown to anybody outside their immediate fanbase.
This latest album feels like a last ditch attempt to get something going and while it may well be the best material the band has released I really can’t see it doing amazing things. Don’t get me wrong, personally I really enjoyed their unique take on the doom/drone metal genre, but I also know that there are so many bands doing this sort of stuff these days that the actual market for them has turned quite small. The guitars have that classic, muddy sound you would expect any good doom band to have, and the vocals are interesting, but sometimes not in a good way.
Song wise, you’d have to be a fan of the genre to enjoy the whole album as the slow pace really makes it feel as though it goes forever, and toward the end of the album it does seem to start dragging a bit. I still recommend that curious doom metal fans check it out, as they do actually have a bit of a unique style for the genre, but if you don’t usually get in to the slow droning feeling of doom metal then this album certainly won’t change your mind.
Written By ZeeZee
Rating : 7/10
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