|
|
|
|
Novembers Doom, America's finest prophets of Doom/Death, are back with their 7th release. On The Novella Reservoir the band have traded their love of all things mid-paced for some honest to God speed and aggression. Most notably accompanying this stylistic shift is Paul Kuhr's brutal Death growl dominating while still allowing his clean tenor to occasionally shine through. Like predecessor The Pale Haunt Departure, this album was also mixed by Dan Swanö, whose own voice is recalled by Kuhr, and again mastered by James Murphy, each no stranger to varied musical stylings and excellence in musicianship, thus providing ND with a sound fit for a king. The opening song, "Rain," offers mid-paced Death Metal stylings, particularly vocally, while the titular second song reverts to the band's perhaps more traditional sound, especially in the vocal department. By the time "Drown the Inland Mere" rolls around, only the third song, more speed and a sound akin to Nevermore's This Godless Endeavor's best and heaviest moments appears, perhaps confusing the listener. More of this sonic pacing fills out the album, including acoustic guitars and clean vocals throughout "Twilight Innocence." Also like Nevermore's magnum opus, The Novella Reservoir is a force to be reckoned with, certainly and easily finding its way onto many Top Ten lists for 2007. Arguably better than Opeth or Paradise Lost in different ways (i.e., ND is less Progressive and Gothic, respectively), Novembers Doom have much to celebrate and can eye an ever brighter future. Hopefully this won't harm their craft for writing maudlin yet beautiful melancholy, something that is still borne out in the band's lyrics. In a word: quality.
| Tracklist |
| 1. Rain |
| 2. The Novella Reservoir |
| 3. Drown The Inland Mere |
| 4. Twilight Innocence |
| 5. The Voice Of Failure |
| 6. They Were Left To Die |
| 7. Dominate The Human Strain |
| 8. Leaving This |
: 45.58
| Buy other Novembers Doom albums |
