Mourning Mist - Mourning Mist review
| Band: | Mourning Mist |
| Album: | Mourning Mist |
| Style: | Avantgarde doom metal, Blackened doom metal |
| Release date: | February 09, 2015 |
| A review by: | Auntie Sahar |
01. The Flowing
02. Freefall
03. Rage
04. Torment
05. Rise And Decay
06. Lament
In the early 90s, a little band by the name of Katatonia put out an album called Dance Of December Souls, considered by many to have written the rulebook for blackened doom metal. Over 20 years later, Mourning Mist are saying screw it and throwing the rulebook out the window.
The self titled debut of the Italian newcomers of Mourning Mist retains a good bit of the characteristics one has probably come to expect from the blackened doom style by now. Powerful shrieks build to a crescendo over doomy tremolo picking guitar, that eventually transitions to more of a thick, crunchy tone. The riffs at work here can be incredibly catchy and bouncy, and can get stuck in your head easily, particularly on "Torment" and "Rage." A sense of a good hook isn't always that common with blackened doom, with quite a few bands seeming to write riffs that just plod over and over each other to nowhere, but here Mourning Mist are nailing it.
These first impressions, however, of the band staying in familiar territory, can be misleading. Much like The Body for blackened sludge, Mourning Mist deviate greatly from many of the ordinary understandings of blackened doom, and prove themselves as quite comfortable with throwing plenty of other tricks into the mix. At times the riffs can feel very off beat, with quite technical bass lines as well, hinting at possible progressive influence ("Freefall"). Surprisingly enough, some well constructed guitar solos are also present, seeming to borrow from the doom side of things, but also resembling more traditional heavy metal soloing. Perhaps most interesting is the presence of violin, especially on closing track "Lament," which, played over a dark, bluesy guitar, serves as the perfect sorrowful note for the album to close out on.
With their debut, Mourning Mist establish themselves as willing to significantly rethink the black/doom metal fusion, and the ways in which the two can be combined and even further added upon. Providing an alternative to some of the bleaker and unrelenting trademarks of the style, the band engage listeners in an experience that is catchy, immersive, and different, while also providing a comfortable familiarity by not wandering too far off base from a core sound. This is probably the most interesting extreme doom release I've yet heard this year, and a band to keep an eye on for sure.
Comments
| JayMo4 Posts: 316  |
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| Alex F Posts: 3521  |
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989  |
Written by Alex F on 24.01.2015 at 19:53 Yeah, I can definitely see it being up your alley. I can't really think of any other blackened doom band it can be closely compared to off the top of my head. Pretty distinct sound. For the moment you could always check out the one song they posted from this album on Soundcloud, I'm pretty sure Joe linked it up on my 2015 list.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| !J.O.O.E.! Account deleted |
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by [user id=4365] on 24.01.2015 at 20:24 I think sometimes I feel the same way about blackened doom that you feel about drone doom  That is, that it's a great style, but rarely do bands make truly powerful releases within it. Thankfully this one is a good exception.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| !J.O.O.E.! Account deleted |
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted Written by Auntie Sahar on 24.01.2015 at 20:29 Yeah blackened doom needs a good balance I find. It's true not many bands nail it. Blackened sludge though seems easy as pie for some reason.
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by [user id=4365] on 24.01.2015 at 20:31 I think that might be because sludge and BM are both typically pretty aggressive, so it makes it easier. Blending the violence of black metal with the slow, brooding nature seems to be a bit more difficult.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| MetalDoomMaster Posts: 566 |
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| Slayer666 Posts: 2466  |
I knew I had to check this out after the first paragraph. I always get giddy when someone mentions Dance of December Souls, even if it's "this is totally not like Dance of December Souls". Any links at all?
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by Slayer666 on 25.01.2015 at 13:13 So far the label only put Rage up on Soundcloud, but thankfully that's one of the album's better tracks.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Authopsy Posts: 3  |
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by Authopsy on 25.01.2015 at 15:29 I don't think so, it hasn't been officially released yet
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Slayer666 Posts: 2466 |
Written by Auntie Sahar on 25.01.2015 at 14:48 Hm... not as good as I had hoped. It feels more like a collection of riffs varying from OK-ish to good rather than a coherent whole. Also not a fan of the vocals.
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071  |
Written by Slayer666 on 27.01.2015 at 03:46 Checked out the song on soundcloud and some stuff on YouTube and found it to be extremely lacking in all departments. Like you mentioned the riffs and also the vocals. And at times the try to overdo the not genre specific stuff but not being able to make it sound coherent there either.
---- Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.) 05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996 
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| Erik M. Posts: 3104  |
Is it me or does Che usually really like stuff that others find totally mediocre?  Anyway, I'd check this album out if they had a Bandcamp page (or another place where the whole album can be streamed), which sadly, they don't.
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by Erik M. on 28.01.2015 at 23:12 I think everyone has their albums they fanboy harder than anyone else in a way, I just tend to have pretty eccentric tastes (sorry if that sounded arrogant, not trying to be), so it tends to happen quite a lot with me I'd advise you just listen to it when it comes out to take the experience in full context, but if you're really interested, check out that song on Soundcloud I linked a few comments up.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Erik M. Posts: 3104 |
Written by Auntie Sahar on 29.01.2015 at 00:08 Yeah, but then again, the people who disagree with you (Marcel most of the time, it seems) also have pretty eccentric tastes, right? Maybe you even more so, though, I'm not sure. Anyway, I'll check it out. 
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by Erik M. on 29.01.2015 at 00:10 I'd say Joe, Alex, and myself, for sure. To the point that we kind of come off as a bit elitist in terms of how much we value originality in bands, but it's really not meant to be, our tastes are just that out there
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| !J.O.O.E.! Account deleted |
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted
I'll disagree with anyone that thinks Blood Farmer or Doom:VS were amongst the best albums of last year 
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by [user id=4365] on 29.01.2015 at 16:12 Doom last year was pretty disappointing for me. I mean maybe I'm missing something, but most of the albums I scoped seemed rather boring and uninspired. In 2013 three of my favorites were Lesbian, Avatarium, and Dark Buddha Rising, all of which sounded nothing alike. 2014 didn't really have that much of a sense of variation, imo. *Having said that, 2014 was definitely the year of sludge. Great time to be a fan of that one.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| !J.O.O.E.! Account deleted |
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| Auntie Sahar Drone Empress Posts: 5989 |
Written by [user id=4365] on 29.01.2015 at 16:22 Agreed, most of the ones I really enjoyed were more in the extreme doom spectrum than "pure" doom.
---- I am the Magician and the Exorcist. I am the axle of the wheel, and the cube in the circle. “Come unto me” is a foolish word: for it is I that go. ~ II. VII
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| Erik M. Posts: 3104 |
Written by [user id=4365] on 29.01.2015 at 16:12 So then you only disagree with me and Marcel.
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| Ag Fox Angel No More Elite Posts: 4774  |
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I like it
---- loves 小巫
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| Susan Smeghead Elite Posts: 6941  |
It got off to a slow start but "Rage" was an interesting track and got my attention. I don't love it, especially vocally, but there's plenty to enjoy Let's see if it grows on me. Thanks for reviewing.Edit: nevermind. Huge, pointless spoken word opener to the next track. Well, that was fun. Next.
---- "A life all mine Is what I choose At the end of my days" --The Gathering "A Life All Mine" from Souvenirs
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