Post by thesoundmonitor on May 28, 2004 8:29:18 GMT -5
ORODRUIN
Claw Tower and Other Tales of Terror
(psycheDOOMelic)
The full title of Orodruin's new album - 'Claw Tower... and Other Tales of Terror' lets you know right off that you're in for the kind of aural assault that you'd get from a doom band with Edgar Allan Poe on lead guitar and H.P. Lovecraft on earthquake bass: morbid, weird, and unrelentingly heavy. Orodruin (that's Mount Doom, or Fire Mountain for all you non-Sindarin speakers) kick it old school, with an emphasis on Sabbathy riffs that pound holes in your skull like the proverbial million-pound shithammer.
Yes, for this band it’s all about killer doom riffs. Some may say that this is insufficient, that "context" is needed. Well, as Captain Beefheart once said, some people have had too much time to think. Orodruin has all the riffage they need to make them one of America's - and the world's - premier trad. doom bands. Straight up! It’s all the more remarkable considering that the average age of an Orodruin band member is now something like 23. 'Claw Tower...' is one in a series of back catalog releases from various up-and-coming doomsters promulgated by the psycheDOOMelic label. This one shows where Orodruin is and where they've come from. The disc is divided into two "chapters"; the first is newer material, while the second collects demos from as far back as 1999. The new material is total crushing doom, with the song 'Claw Tower' leading the way and a "live" version of one of their most loved tunes 'Unspeakable Truth', not to mention a cover of 'Stand Up and Fight' by Quartz. This last tune explores the band's interest in NWOBHM sounds, which we also hear in the second chapter demos, most notably the metal tuneage in their 1999 demo. Also included are a couple of songs from the original
Epicurean Mass recording session, featuring Mike Puleo's initial stab at vocals. You'll have to agree he's come a long way since then.
psycheDOOMelic has once again done yoeman's work assembling this interesting collection for this essential band. Perhaps the label will end up as the Rhino of the doom world, heh heh. In any case, if you're into the classic sounds of mind-destroying, riffing doom with some hard rockin' mixed in, and you dig the likes of Sabbath, Pentagram, Internal Void, St. Vitus, Last Chapter, VoodooShock, and most of all Reverend Bizarre, then your work is cut out for you. Like Janus, this collection looks both backwards and forwards, so you'd better pick it up on it if you want the full picture.
Kevin McHugh
Label Site: www.psycheDOOMelic.com
Claw Tower and Other Tales of Terror
(psycheDOOMelic)
The full title of Orodruin's new album - 'Claw Tower... and Other Tales of Terror' lets you know right off that you're in for the kind of aural assault that you'd get from a doom band with Edgar Allan Poe on lead guitar and H.P. Lovecraft on earthquake bass: morbid, weird, and unrelentingly heavy. Orodruin (that's Mount Doom, or Fire Mountain for all you non-Sindarin speakers) kick it old school, with an emphasis on Sabbathy riffs that pound holes in your skull like the proverbial million-pound shithammer.
Yes, for this band it’s all about killer doom riffs. Some may say that this is insufficient, that "context" is needed. Well, as Captain Beefheart once said, some people have had too much time to think. Orodruin has all the riffage they need to make them one of America's - and the world's - premier trad. doom bands. Straight up! It’s all the more remarkable considering that the average age of an Orodruin band member is now something like 23. 'Claw Tower...' is one in a series of back catalog releases from various up-and-coming doomsters promulgated by the psycheDOOMelic label. This one shows where Orodruin is and where they've come from. The disc is divided into two "chapters"; the first is newer material, while the second collects demos from as far back as 1999. The new material is total crushing doom, with the song 'Claw Tower' leading the way and a "live" version of one of their most loved tunes 'Unspeakable Truth', not to mention a cover of 'Stand Up and Fight' by Quartz. This last tune explores the band's interest in NWOBHM sounds, which we also hear in the second chapter demos, most notably the metal tuneage in their 1999 demo. Also included are a couple of songs from the original
Epicurean Mass recording session, featuring Mike Puleo's initial stab at vocals. You'll have to agree he's come a long way since then.
psycheDOOMelic has once again done yoeman's work assembling this interesting collection for this essential band. Perhaps the label will end up as the Rhino of the doom world, heh heh. In any case, if you're into the classic sounds of mind-destroying, riffing doom with some hard rockin' mixed in, and you dig the likes of Sabbath, Pentagram, Internal Void, St. Vitus, Last Chapter, VoodooShock, and most of all Reverend Bizarre, then your work is cut out for you. Like Janus, this collection looks both backwards and forwards, so you'd better pick it up on it if you want the full picture.
Kevin McHugh
Label Site: www.psycheDOOMelic.com