Novembers Doom
The Novella Reservoir
The End (2007)
Hailing from Chicago, Illinois, Novembers Doom were first brought to my attention by a disgruntled Opeth fan, who, unimpressed with the band's last offering, was recommending Novembers Doom's The Pale Haunt Departure instead. He informed me that the vocals - clean and harsh - were just as good as Mikael Ã"¦kerfeldt's and the songs were simply "much better", his words, not mine. I decided to check out The Pale Haunt Departure and enjoyed it immensely. The comparison to Opeth is inevitable as both bands use clean and harsh vocals and have softer sections to complement the more furious metal parts. However, Novembers Doom were a doom metal band, and so the nuances of that genre permeate The Pale Haunt Departure. The first thing at strikes you as The Novella Reservoir starts is how heavy and atmospheric the first track "Rain" is. Many of their doom metal traits have been replaced by elements more characteristic of death metal. Halfway through the track, the song does slow down before finally pummeling you again until its conclusion. Paul Kuhr is easily up there with Vader's Piotr Wiwczarek, Akercocke's Jason Mendonca, and Opeth's Mikael Ã"¦kerfeldt's in terms of vocal ability. His growls contain a … Read more
Aughra / Mosh Patrol
Is There Anyone Else Outside
Magic Bullet (2007)
Is There Anyone Else Outside is the split effort between Aughra and Mosh Patrol. Aughra is the ambient/electronic solo-project of … Read more
Shadows Fall
Threads of Life
Atlantic (2007)
I have five different CD players, three in my home and two more in cars. The copy of Threads of … Read more
Talk is Poison
Condensed Humanity: The Prank EPs
Prank (2007)
At last. A fairly short-lived, late '90s hardcore band, Talk is Poison seemed to stick in the heads of connoisseurs … Read more
Big D and the Kids Table
Strictly Rude
Side One Dummy (2007)
Ska is dead. Is ska dead? For many of us the answer is yes. I'm sure several of you reading … Read more
