Novembers Doom

Last year, as Morgion gave up their doom ghost on Cloaked by Ages, Crowned in Earth on Dark Symphonies, Chicago’s Novembers Doom left the same label for Utah’s eclectic The End Records and have released their weightiest album yet. Openers "Swallowed by the Moon” and the title track are arguably the band’s heaviest tunes to date, as the group reinforces their output and becomes even more aggressive without losing their more subtle moments of musicianship. The Opeth-like acoustics that punctuate "Autumn Reflection” strike a perfect balance like old My Dying Bride. Featuring an ending guitar solo by Edge of Sanity/Nightingale genius Dan Swanö, "Dark World Burden” is an ultra-solid doom-death entry with a surplus of metronomic kick drum beats and front man Paul Kuhr’s predominant mix of Deicide-styled death growls over clean vocals. King Crimson’s In the Court of the Crimson King is referenced on the keyboards halfway through "In the Absence of Grace,” while "Through a Child’s Eyes” shimmers with acoustic grace like a gentler Katatonia. With scarecrow cover art like an alternate movie poster for Jeepers Creepers, plus crystal-clear mixing and mastering by Swanö and James Murphy (Obituary, Disincarnate, Death) respectively, Novembers Doom improve their craft appreciably while remaining one of the top doom acts in the Western Hemisphere.