Why Angels Fall

The Unveiling

Written by: EW on 17/07/2010 13:09:27

Doom as funereal as this does not make an easy listen at any time of year, let alone in the months of summer, thus explaining why months after a friend treated me to a copy of Why Angels Fall's debut album "The Unveiling" I can only now review it. Hailing from Portugal and in the truest of doom fashion it has taken the band 13 long years to get their debut album out, an album of two megalithic songs closing in at a combined 77 minutes; two songs so crushing and full of voyage they cannot be grasped with ease. In the title track which greets us, it's 43 minutes feature countless eclectic solos, never dull and often brilliant, which epitomise the freedom of time and space that is created when a rhythm section is as bassy and slow as found here. While the deep bass line reminds of Asunder's ponderous heaviosity WAF manage to at all times feel as if they are moving forward, constantly flowing and moving unlike some of the more deathly-doom bands out there. The Middle Eastern flourishes hinted on the album cover and earlier soloing take precedence around the 13-minute mark when the sounds of sitar lead off into an Om-like transcendence, essentially heralding the arrival of a new stage in "The Unveiling"'s epic journey, or the start of another song if your mind simply cannot handle the thought of a 43-minute tune.

With these world influences WAF expertly embed them back into the cavernous doom when the time again calls in a manner one does not hear so often as most proponents of folky-metal simple bodge the two sounds together without thoughts of collaboration; not here though. Our opener, having introduced plenty of clean vocals to contrast with the earlier deep bellows closes in more doomed fashion as it leads to the 34-minute "Neo Genesis", a song less dramatic though darker through it's more willing deployment of gentle synth early in the song as it sets the scene for periods of sparse piano-led interludes and vocal chanting, all bound together by the crashing heavy riffs, let's not forget. Despite the gargantuan lengths of both songs on "The Unveiling" the excellent composition revealed in the slowly unfolding chapters in the duo of songs makes for a listen that drifts past quicker than would be expected. Never in a million years will music this extreme in nature garner a large-scale following but for those who like to vary their speeds right down to the bottom I must recommend this. For atmosphere and presence this is one of the best extreme doom album I've ever heard.

8

Download: N/A
For the fans of: Ahab, Asunder, While Heaven Wept
Listen: Myspace

Release date 08.03.2010
Bubonic Productions

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