These pioneers of doom strike back with their 9th full length studio album, a self-titled just like their first one but referred by the fans apparently as the “Grey Album” and it was published by Seasons of Mist.
This musical effort consists of 9 tracks (1.”Remains”, 2.”A prelude to…”, 3.”Bloodshed”, 4.”12 years in the Tomb”, 5.”Wormhole”, 6.”Hour Glass”, 7.”City Park”, 8.”Last Breath”, 9.”Useless”). The 2nd and 3rd tracks are meddling, “A prelude to…” acting just like a… prelude, the voice of Scott Reagers being the perfect medium for this atmospheric and bleak tune that transitions into the more energetic “Bloodshed”. The last song on this material tops it off in an unexpected way by being a purely punk tune. The general vibe on this material is one of impending doom, also being very dark, almost catatonic at times. The faster songs remind me of the early Maiden to be quite honest. Even though repetitive but not managing to get the hypnotic feeling quite that well, the melody blended in a nice way with the overall doomish atmosphere .
In terms of productions I think it was pretty well done. The lyrics deal with nihilism, imminent destruction and death in general.
All in all, I felt transported right in the late 70’s, these legends never making us forget where they come from.
