Artist: Novembers Doom
Label: Dark Symphonies
Release Date: 11/7/00
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Title: The Knowing Artist: Novembers Doom Label: Dark Symphonies Release Date: 11/7/00 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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Go to Reader Reviews | ||
Abyss's Review:
Novembers Doom returns with their sophomore effort, which is not much of a departure from their previous album, Of Sculptured Ivy and Stone Flowers. The concept is the same, Opeth inspired beauty and darkness. A mix of Death, Goth, and Epic metal that is altogether quite good, but not on the level of the previously mentioned masters.
"A mix of Death, Goth, and Epic metal that is altogether quite good." This album borrows from a wide variety compared to their last one. It’s easy to spot inspiration from Pink Floyd and Jane’s Addiction amongst the sadness and anger, and when this band hits it on the head, it is quite a pleasurable listen. Unfortunately, while I really like this album, it definitely has a tendency to drone on in parts, and that takes away from its effectiveness as a complete listen.
Where this band is ahead of many of the others in this genre is in their use of female vocals. Instead of some shrill operatic wail, the female vocals in this band find it okay to just be pretty. A pleasurable sound that, although less dark, allows warmth into the music that is increasingly pleasurable. It actually seems like a completely new sound, but that’s probably just because of the death and blackness I’ve recently been surrounding myself with.
The keyboards have a similar effect, expanding on the overused “eerie” sound that sounds like it belongs on the soundtrack of some Vincent Price movie. The guitars add texture to the overall sound, much like Opeth’s, but while adequate, they don’t utilize killer riffs that can play a central part in the song.
"If you like the last one you will be more than satisfied." Overall this is still a great record, and with repeated spins it keeps getting better. And while these guys aren’t quite on the level of Opeth, they are the next best thing (especially considering the crappy direction Theatre of Tragedy are going.) If you like the last one you will be more than satisfied.
Death's Review:
OK, some introductory confessions: (1) prior to listening to this record for the purposes of writing this review, I was unfamiliar with Novembers Doom; (2) I think I was in the room when they played at this year's Milwaukee Metalfest, but I was long since "finished" after far exceeding my weekend warrior drinking status over the course of the previous 36 hours of Metalfest-centered raging, and I remember less than nothing of this performance; (3) to reveal myself as potentially even further unqualified to write this review, I admit to being relatively unfamiliar with even the most renown platters from the Paradise Lost, Anathema and My Dying Bride catalogues. Yet this week, it was decided that the Judgment Committee would take on Novembers Doom. So I decided to view my ignorance more positively, perhaps instead focusing on my lack of bias. When it came to Novembers Doom, I was a clean slate, so to speak.
That didn't stay true for too long. I read the press. And just like that, before I even heard a note, my clean listening slate was spoiled by three annoyances which leaped out from my review of these promotional materials the minute I actually heard the record:
"This stuff is too progressive. At times is sounds like fucking Jethro Tull." I. Seasonal Bandnames
I open up the packaging sent by the Dark Symphonies label. Cardboard promotional cards fall out trumpeting the merits of records from three bands: Autumn Tears, Novembers Doom, and Long Winter's Stare. Now all they need to do is sign New York's October Thorns. Or re-release a deluxe edition of Type O's October Rust.
II. Doom?
In the late eighties, I knew what doom metal was. Candlemass. To a certain extent, Trouble. Sabbath exhibited doom metal's earliest origins. Bands like Solitude Aeturnus today. I missed a good part of the underground doom metal nineties, but now people are calling stuff like November's Doom, doom. Sure, they have elements of doom, but is this what doom metal is in 2000? This stuff is too progressive. At times is sounds like fucking Jethro Tull. It's also too aggressive. The death metal elements are far harsher than the clean, higher pitched vocals of many of the above-mentioned bands. This is not yesterday's doom metal as I remember it. This is more like Opeth. Would you call Opeth doom?
III. The "Big Three"?
"Next time they play Milwaukee, I'll try harder not to pass out." I kept seeing the press compare these guys to My Dying Bride and the rest of that ilk. To my ear, however, November's Doom sounds a lot better than the recent My Dying Bride record we reviewed at Metal Judgment earlier this year. Why? 'Cause it's less goth and more Pink Floyd. And more Opeth. I'm no expert in this sub-genre, but what I was reading and what I was hearing just didn't ever click.
As you can see, I am not exactly Novembers Doom's target listener. But I can tell you that it is definitely quality material. It's great to hear this type of European influence in a band from Chicago. I applaud and support Novembers Doom. Opeth they're not - they lack the same degree of progressiveness as well as Opeth's knack for the occasional crushing riff. But they are good, and they should be noticed. Next time they play Milwaukee, I'll try harder not to pass out.
Hel's Review:
This band is known to me because I was one of the hardy few to close out last year's Milwaukee Metalfest. Novembers Doom was the very, very last band onstage Saturday night, at something like, 2 am, playing to a very small and rather disoriented crowd. Famine, Cyn, and I were some of the last survivors, and Death, asleep in a chair at the back of the auditorium the Relapse stage was in. I remember saying, hey, there's a girl in the band, and Famine jumping up with his camera and running up to the stage. And I thought they were good, considering the ungodly hour.
"The biggest strength of this band lies in the ever-changing vocal lines." So here we are, months later, album in hand. An ambitious playing time of 63:49 for twelve tracks should give you the kind of scope we're talking about. Epic song-age. "Intervene" is probably the only brief song on the album, and it is just a new age-y instrumental. There are so many disparate influences evident on this record, it's hard to catch them all. At times, the gothic, doomy side is glaringly obvious, yet the next moment, the most obvious influence will be clearly death metal. The biggest strength of this band lies in the ever-changing vocal lines.
The vocalist has an amazing repertoire, with an ability to do doom, death, and more traditional vocals equally well. The addition of occasional female vocals adds nicely to the overall ambience of the album without even approaching overdone. The same can be said for the ambient keyboards, which are also only occasionally present. Everyone in the band handles their instrument with skill, and they are unusually apt at seamlessly blending styles usually not found side by side. They are able to strike a balance, creating an amalgam of their various influences which manages to somehow sound exactly yet nothing like those influences, all at the same time. An unusual and interesting band, particularly if you are looking for some mellow aggression in your day.
"An unusual and interesting band, particularly if you are looking for some mellow aggression in your day."
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