Wedding In Hades - Elements Of Disorder
Wedding in Hades are a French band that combines dark gothic metal music with doom Metal and death metal but they also have a almost symphonic sound in parts. People who are regular readers of my reviews will know, I am not usually much of a fan of the gothic end of doom metal. Lets face it, bands playing the style are a dime a dozen especially in Europe where the metal scene is flooded with clones of My Dying Bride. Wedding In Hades were a real surprise to me however, even though they play on the one hand a very typical brand of gothic doom metal, they are also very good and here on their debut album called "Elements Of Disorder" they have created something that is very engaging and mesmerizing. The band started out in 2006 with their first demo being recorded in 2007. "Elements Of Disorder" does have the usual trademarks of gothic doom, Dark Tranquillity, My Dying Bride, Katatonia are all obvious reference points but there is also some passages they are very much in the Sabbath meets Type O Negative direction.
The album begins with a instrumental intro titled "Sacrifice", it has a thick mournful sound with dense waves of keyboard sounds and melody lines. The album just gets better from here onwards, the following tracks "Safety" and "As You Die" do the gothic style but with many twists and turns. Slow moving majestic passages give way to crunching rhythms and even blast bits but the overall vibe is one that is rich in melancholic doom metal. Vocals range from the clean to death growls but unlike some other bands, they are used in the right quantities and are used in the right places making the songs sound very well balanced. As the album progresses the Type O Negative sound becomes more to the fore-front of the music especially in the middle part of the album in the songs "Centuries Of Men" and "Widow" and fans of Type O will surely dig the musical vision this band has. The atmospheric keyboard work blend effortlessly with beautiful guitar solo's that are at times soar to magical heights of brilliance. "Doomed" offers up more Katatonia meets Amorphis styled gothic doom but Wedding In Hades put their own mark on the songs and should never be considered as just another copy-cat band, they are so good they have no real competition despite the obvious comparisons.
If there is a weak song, it would properly come in the form of "A Dark Sea", by this late stage of the album, the overall sound and vibe becomes a little samey but its still a good piece of music but the overall impact isn't quite the same. If you have heard all the reference points I have mentioned in this review, then you will know what to expect from this Wedding In Hades album but don't expect just another recycled goth-doom band. Wedding In Hades have mastered the style and taken it to the ultimate level of musical integrity and passion. Beautifully played and produced, there is enough twists and turns to "Elements Of Disorder" to satisfy any fan of the goth-doom genre and even traditional doom fans should find enough killer riffs and doomed-out melodies to keep you enthralled and mesmerized. The main achievement here is Wedding In Hades have managed to create their own identity within a scene that has largely became stagnated and recycled to death. This is a great album that flows nicely throughout its close to 50 minutes and the musicianship involved is breath-taking for the most part. Like I mentioned in my opening comments, I am a hard man to please when it comes to gothic styled doom metal but this is already my pick for goth-doom album of 2010. I can't see another gothic doom album as good as this one being released anytime soon. Check it out.
The album begins with a instrumental intro titled "Sacrifice", it has a thick mournful sound with dense waves of keyboard sounds and melody lines. The album just gets better from here onwards, the following tracks "Safety" and "As You Die" do the gothic style but with many twists and turns. Slow moving majestic passages give way to crunching rhythms and even blast bits but the overall vibe is one that is rich in melancholic doom metal. Vocals range from the clean to death growls but unlike some other bands, they are used in the right quantities and are used in the right places making the songs sound very well balanced. As the album progresses the Type O Negative sound becomes more to the fore-front of the music especially in the middle part of the album in the songs "Centuries Of Men" and "Widow" and fans of Type O will surely dig the musical vision this band has. The atmospheric keyboard work blend effortlessly with beautiful guitar solo's that are at times soar to magical heights of brilliance. "Doomed" offers up more Katatonia meets Amorphis styled gothic doom but Wedding In Hades put their own mark on the songs and should never be considered as just another copy-cat band, they are so good they have no real competition despite the obvious comparisons.
If there is a weak song, it would properly come in the form of "A Dark Sea", by this late stage of the album, the overall sound and vibe becomes a little samey but its still a good piece of music but the overall impact isn't quite the same. If you have heard all the reference points I have mentioned in this review, then you will know what to expect from this Wedding In Hades album but don't expect just another recycled goth-doom band. Wedding In Hades have mastered the style and taken it to the ultimate level of musical integrity and passion. Beautifully played and produced, there is enough twists and turns to "Elements Of Disorder" to satisfy any fan of the goth-doom genre and even traditional doom fans should find enough killer riffs and doomed-out melodies to keep you enthralled and mesmerized. The main achievement here is Wedding In Hades have managed to create their own identity within a scene that has largely became stagnated and recycled to death. This is a great album that flows nicely throughout its close to 50 minutes and the musicianship involved is breath-taking for the most part. Like I mentioned in my opening comments, I am a hard man to please when it comes to gothic styled doom metal but this is already my pick for goth-doom album of 2010. I can't see another gothic doom album as good as this one being released anytime soon. Check it out.
1. Sacrifice
2. Safety
3. As You Die
4. Centuries Of Men
5. Widow
6. Doomed
7. A Dark Sea (Signaculum Domini)
8. The Wise
