That's not the type of doom I'd like to talk about here. I've recently gotten review copies of two doom albums, both from Italy so instead of doing a large review of each I decided to combine two shorter reviews into one article.
I definitely don't hate this album, there's nothing that it does inherently wrong but for me personally, there's not a lot that it does inherently right either. It just kinda fades into the background without grabbing me which can be nice but it's not exactly breathtaking. However if it sounds like your cup of doom (from the genre description, not my lack of interest obviously) go for it. It's definitely a solid addition to any collection of old school death, doom or death doom. Especially for the cover art, I kinda want to get a vinyl copy just to frame it.
Next up is Misty Morning from Rome:
Overall the album mostly feels sci-fi (and/or like the beginning of Ocean Planet) in its ambient parts where sci-fi synths and sometimes whale sounds come together to create some sort of atmosphere. Atmospherically I'd point to Mourn O' Whales as a strong point where it feels almost old-school Mastodon-esque at times. The riffing overall is pretty cool while not very original, again kinda Mastodonian/classic heavy metal, and the mood is set well by both the instrumentation and vocals. That said it's not quite the sci-fiest of sci-fi albums I've heard but that's probably not what they're going for anyway.
The vocals are something I'm quite torn about. The vocalist tries a bunch of different things on this album and while some of them work some of them simply don't. I feel like he's on the verge of perfecting his style and honestly it's grown on me in this short time I've had the album. To be completely blunt I really didn't like the vocals on first listen but the more I listen to it I feel like they may be one of the strongest qualities the album has to offer. While there are quite a few times where the vocals miss the mark for me the fact that he chose a varied, characteristic driven approach really brings out a singular element, that it isn't just another doom album. Of course this comes in some way from the instruments as well and the overarching flow of the album really helps bring you from one mood to the other while the vocals narrate it in a raving madman sort of way.
Even calling it doom is kinda strange for me. It's a lot more varied than most doom I've heard recently when it comes to moods (not counting Öxxö Xööx). I'd say it's more something like classic heavy metal disguised as progressive doom or something but that's just starting to sound pretentious.
One thing I'll 100% say I cannot stand it's the song Doomzilla. I saw the name and I knew what I was in for:
"Doomzilla – Wants your soul
Doomzilla – Doom ‘n’ Roll "
I'm not a huge fan of "joke songs" and within something that sounds like it had a lot of work put into it it just seems off. Throwing in a stereotypical classic rock song with those lyrics and a "yeehaw" in there just really throws me off personally. If I keep listening to this album in the future I'm removing Doomzilla from the playlist. The "Ballo in Fa # minor" is also an odd one but I have more belief in that growing on me that Doomzilla. Doomzilla feels too "late night bar gig" for me but if you like bands like Vintage Caravan it's probably up your alley.
But to finish on a happier note this album has actually grown on me substantially in a couple of listens so it's probably more of a grower than a shower. I recommend a couple of spins and then looking optimistically towards the future because if Misty Morning has anything, it's potential.
Jón Þór