Witchsorrow

The second disc from these Brit doomsters starts out as low, slow and heavy as anything from the first Cathedral disc (Forest of Equilibrium), and it's not like things ever reach stoner rock levels of party-hard attitude (there are seven songs in 56 minutes). But, like on their great self-titled debut from 2010, there are moments that approach second album Cathedral (The Ethereal Mirror) levels of fun. Balancing those two sounds, and doing it just as well as Cathedral, is what sets this great doom band apart. The title track is as heavy, yet soulful and downright fun to listen to, as any doom metal classic. "Masters of Nothing" starts off brilliantly with 40 seconds of nothing but a doom-paced drum beat before it proceeds to pound doom metal's legendary tones and vibes over the listener's head for the next nine minutes. The tempos in this track ranging from insanely slow to a speed that for doom is "fast," and for the rest of music is "still insanely slow." There's not a great deal of room for growth from album to album in this genre, but with discs as great as this, it's not required.