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By JEFF MAKI
Novembers Doom has been around for quite some time, forming in 1989 and The Novella Reservoir being their seventh release. Their previous effort, The Pale Haunt Departure, was received well by fans and critics. On the musical direction of this album, the band has stated that they took “a step forward in speed and aggression, while still retaining the same sound they've had over the course of their career.” Comparisons have been made to Opeth or Paradise Lost due to the band’s epic style of doom metal, mournful but beautifully written.
Starting with the heavy opening riffs and up-tempo pace of “Rain,” this isn't your stereotypical doom metal like that of My Dying Bride. It surely won't make your eyes heavy. The deathly vocals, along with the double bass and rough guitar sound remind me of Moonspell's latest offering, Memorial, minus the goth appeal. Lead vocalist Paul Kuhr can bellow death metal growls but also can sing a clean, hypnotic melody or chorus, which is rare in metal these days. The Opeth comparison rears its head here, as his growl is similar to lead vocalist, Mike Akerfeldt.
“Drown the Inland Mere” is perhaps the heaviest song of the album (listen here). The first part of this record has no doom metal reference whatsoever, other than the clean and catchy Floydian chorus in the “The Novella Reservoir” or the occasional acoustic guitar. It's not until “Twilight Innocence,” a full-on acoustic ballad, that things change up. This song is neither doom nor metal and it's inclusion at this point in the album is strange. Nevertheless, Kuhr, who is not a perfect fit for this style, holds his own as the focal point of the track. “Voice of Failure” is along the lines of Paradise Lost with its epic chorus. “They Were Left To Die” is a brooding, evil slab of doom metal and one of the album's strongest songs. “Dominate the Human Strain” is straight-up death metal. The eight-song album closes with “Leaving This,” an acoustically-driven number which has a slow build and gives the listener a sense of impending doom—mission accomplished, I suppose. Kuhr's vocals are at his strongest here, pulling in and hypnotizing the listener from start to finish.
Novembers Doom should maybe call themselves Novembers Death for the sake of this release, as the bulk of the album is just that. I am rather intrigued to hear the band's previous material after hearing “Leaving This.” The inclusion of material more along these lines seems to make more sense for this band. Don't get me wrong; their death-oriented material is strong—better than actual death metal bands even—but it causes them to blend in more with an already crowded scene.
This is not my preferred style of metal by any means, but of the bands I have mentioned, Novembers Doom’s material is most appealing to me. With My Dying Bride's last effort being less than spectacular, Paradise Lost playing more of a Metallica style and Opeth's material too long and involved for my taste, it's an easy choice to go with The Novella Reservoir.
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