It is pretty apparent upon listening to this self-titled debut that these guys know their metal. However, even with the obvious nods to the aforementioned bands, Sinister Realm still sounds pretty modern. The songwriting tends to be pretty layered and while not necessarily complex, the music has a way of carrying itself quite well. As you might expect, things tend to be slow to mid paced, with all of the songs hovering around the five-minute range. For the most part everything you will find on this album tends to have an epic or larger than life feel to it with the band showcasing a real emphasis on vocal melodies. Tunes like the slow building “Demon Seed” or the haunting “ The Circle Is Broken” sound like they could be lost tracks found on the Ancient Dreams (Candlemass) album circa 1988. Other highlights include the jamming instrumental “ Enter The Sinister Realm." With a sharp focus on classic songwriting and modern arrangements, Sinister Realm have put together an album that should really make doom fans take notice. Special accolades must be given to vocalist Alex Kristof for an outstanding job of bellowing out lyrics of witches, curses, and, sorrows.

As far as debut albums go, this is a good one, and if you are a fan of epic doom metal this will be one of the gems you can discover in 2009. In the broad spectrum of metal, epic doom may be one of the genres that you really do not hear too much about as far as new bands are concerned, therefore it is refreshing to hear that there are bands like this sprouting up and putting forward a good product. If you like doom, this is a must have.

written by Joe Grammatico

Playing time: 46:02