Band:	Procession
Album:	Doom Decimation
Style:	Doom metal
Release date:	October 31, 2017
A review by:	nikarg

01. The Warning
02. When Doomsday Has Come
03. Lonely Are The Ways Of The Stranger
04. Amidst The Bowels Of Earth
05. Democide
06. All Descending Suns
07. As They Reached The Womb
08. One By One They Died

Procession is one of the most exciting doom metal bands of the last decade and if you think they reached their peak with the two full-length albums that preceded Doom Decimation, well, you've got another thing coming.

The Judas Priest reference of the previous sentence was intentional; the follow-up to the magnificent To Reap Heavens Apart still draws its main influences from doom pioneers, such as Black Sabbath, Candlemass and Pentagram, but Procession have now fused some more classic heavy metal into their sound along with epic elements in a way that bands like Grand Magus and Argus come to mind. The result is a highly enjoyable album for traditional doom metal fans that gets better after every listen.

Quickly ignoring the red sperm-rockets attacking a planet which gives birth to a disgusting creature on this year's worst cover artwork, let's focus on the music. A powerful instrumental intro gives way to "When Doomsday Has Come", the first song where the aforementioned classic heavy metal component is apparent. "Lonely Are The Ways Of The Stranger" slows things down a bit in the beginning, but the transition halfway into the song is no less than epic and majestic. "Amidst The Bowels Of Earth" starts off with guitars tearing apart the earth's insides, before a Black Sabbath-esque riff from the Heaven And Hell era takes over to make it the most stand-out track of the album.

The second half of Doom Decimation follows the same pattern as the first. It begins with an instrumental track (which in this case is a filler), followed by the more upbeat and proggy (!) "All Descending Suns" and concludes with two more doomy and epic songs. If I can voice a complaint about this album it is the fact that these two closing tracks, although pretty strong otherwise, drag a bit too long for their own good and could have been trimmed.

The addition of more heavy, epic and even prog side dishes in Procession's already established doom main course makes for a delicious meal. With granite riffs and duelling guitars, expressive - albeit one-dimensional - vocals, weighty drums and a Geezer Butler-inspired and omnipresent bass, this album brims with pure and passionate metal. Topped-off with lyrics referring to mankind's self-destructing tendencies and acts, it is a great soundtrack for a future barren landscape.

In what has proved to be a very fruitful year for doom metal, Doom Decimation ranks higher than most of 2017's releases of the genre. Don't judge this book by its appalling cover.

"Sons and daughters of the damned
Scourge the ashes of the land
Sons and daughters of the damned
Feed on the ashes of the land"