NOVEMBER'S DOOM "Nephilim Grove"

NOVEMBER’S DOOM

“Nephilim Grove”

Near the top of any list of perennially overlooked Chicago bands should be NOVEMBER’S DOOM.  This band has been a steady producer of quality metal for 30 years plus now and “Nephilim Grove” is their 11th studio album. It’s a continuation of their somber Gothic doom/death, heavy on melody and class while retaining heaviness.

This is not an album that rocks the ND boat in any degree. The songs mine a very sad vein of metal and often unfold in a relaxed way, mixing Gothic melody with ponderous death-tinged heaviness. They open with crunchier, more aggressive material in “Petrichor” and “The Witness Marks” before easing into the slower, more measured title tracks, “What We Become” and “Adagio”. As always, Paul Kuhr’s mixture of grinding growls and gloomy clean vocals is outstanding. Now that OPETH’s Mikael has given up the death growls, Paul might be the preeminent master of this style of singing. And as always, OPETH is not a bad comparison to make to NOVEMBER’S DOOM.

“Nephilim Grove” is neither the heaviest nor the lightest ND release, but seems located squarely in the middle of those poles. It’s definitely an easier, thicker sounding album that “Hamartia”, their last weepy affair. NOVEMBER’S DOOM continues to trudge on its funereal journey, heeding no trends and not veering to any radical new paths.

PROPHECY RECORDS

NOVEMBER'S DOOM