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Skepticism - Ordeal review




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Reviewer:
8.5

58 users:
7.95
Band: Skepticism
Album: Ordeal
Release date: September 2015


01. You
02. Momentary
03. The Departure
04. March Incomplete
05. The Road
06. Closing Music
07. Pouring
08. The March And The Stream

How does a band that pioneered a particular style still stay relevant within said style multiple decades down the road?

Consistency, folks. It's all about consistency. Forming their band in 1991, the funeral doom godfathers in Skepticism were never in a rush to crank out material. The fact that 2015 sees them putting out their fifth full length album in an over 20 year career should tell you something about how these guys prefer to go for quality over quantity. Ordeal sees the band more or less sticking to the same formula that has always worked for them: slow, well paced funeral doom, not of the evil, crushing variety, but more of the bright, highly melodic, and almost spiritually uplifting type. The music still has a distinctly sad, melancholic vibe running throughout it, but more in a "life is so sad, let me me hold you" way than an "embrace the darkness, you're going to die anyway" sort of way. The stunningly beautiful opener "You" is a perfect example.

When I explore all the other funeral doom bands that are out there, I often note a problem with many, with their music becoming monotonous, lacking little variation, and ultimately just becoming a very stale "slow doom + growls + keyboards" formula. But this simply isn't the case with Skepticism. On Ordeal there is a very great feeling that each track is a unique creation unto itself, and there's enough of a back and forth transition between the music's doom core and its atmospheric underbelly to keep listeners intrigued. "The Road," for example, is perhaps the heaviest track of the album, lacking much of the prevalence of melody that appear elsewhere. Other tracks, such as "Closing Music," lean more towards said melody, with a high presence of clean guitar lines, and that distinct organ sound that made Stormcrowfleet so great back in the day and that continues to define Skepticism's sound 20 years later.

Ordeal is a case of something that doesn't occur very often: the pioneers of a certain sound telling all their modern day disciples to sit down and take notice, and actually succeeding in getting them to pay attention. While there are certainly a host of excellent funeral doom bands that have been formed within the past decade or so, this is still an album that they can all afford to take a lesson from, in terms of diversity of sound, pacing of the composition, and much, much more. Heavy, beautiful, and at times surprisingly relaxing, with Ordeal Skepticism are proving that they haven't lost any steam or momentum with their music at all, and can still be looked up to as an excellent example of how to get things done by all their younger brothers in funeral doom.

Doom AOTY contender for sure. Go and get it.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 9
Songwriting: 9
Originality: 7
Production: 9





Written on 30.09.2015 by Metal Storm’s own Babalao. Comforting the disturbed and disturbing the comfortable since 2013.


Comments

Comments: 11   Visited by: 360 users
30.09.2015 - 16:01
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Nice one, before I open this I thought its you who wrote this one
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Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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30.09.2015 - 16:40
Auntie Sahar
Drone Empress
Written by Bad English on 30.09.2015 at 16:01

Nice one, before I open this I thought its you who wrote this one

I do indeed have quite a liking for (good) funeral doom
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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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30.09.2015 - 17:17
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
Written by Auntie Sahar on 30.09.2015 at 16:40

Written by Bad English on 30.09.2015 at 16:01

Nice one, before I open this I thought its you who wrote this one

I do indeed have quite a liking for (good) funeral doom


same other stuffers, but I was ready to bet non of what is in my mind would wrote this
----
Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
Loading...
30.09.2015 - 21:01
Maco
Pvt Funderground
Yeah, I always thought you like more drone than any other sub-genre from doom metal. Good review.
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Crackhead Megadeth reigns supreme.
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30.09.2015 - 21:59
Auntie Sahar
Drone Empress
Written by Maco on 30.09.2015 at 21:01

Yeah, I always thought you like more drone than any other sub-genre from doom metal. Good review.

Well remember, drone isn't necessarily a branch of doom. Drone can be entirely unrelated to metal, and the genre existed long before metal did. It's just that some doom bands have come to incorporate it into their sound, creating drone DOOM. Yes, a little pedantic, but hey: I know a lot about what I like

I'd say my favorite doom derivatives are drone doom and blackened doom, but hey man, I love the whole family: funeral doom, epic doom, stoner and sludge, whole 9 yards
----
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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01.10.2015 - 05:02
Rating: 8
BitterCOld
The Ancient One
Agree on drone. much like Ambient black/doom stuff can start crossing over to just very creepy and sinister new age hippie ambient territory.

gave this one spin, enjoyed it. not as much as Alloy, but did enjoy it very much.

nice work.
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get the fuck off my lawn.

Beer Bug Virus Spotify Playlist crafted by Nikarg and I. Feel free to tune in and add some pertinent metal tunes!
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01.10.2015 - 05:32
Auntie Sahar
Drone Empress
Written by BitterCOld on 01.10.2015 at 05:02

Gave this one spin, enjoyed it. not as much as Alloy, but did enjoy it very much.

There really have been some excellent funeral doom albums this year, more than usual it seems. Bell Witch, Ahab, Tyranny, now this
----
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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01.10.2015 - 07:54
MelancholiaC

Written by Auntie Sahar on 01.10.2015 at 05:32

There really have been some excellent funeral doom albums this year, more than usual it seems. Bell Witch, Ahab, Tyranny, now this


Touche! I keep saying 2015 is The Year of funeral doom, especially considering bands in this style niche tend to take longer (on average maybe 5 years at least) between albums - it's amazing to me that so many exquisite releases have coincided this year.

For me personally, Ahab takes the crown at the moment - The Boats Of The Glen Carrig could possibly end up being my No. 1 top album, not only for this year but even for the past 2-3 years. More time and listens may be required to evaluate, but that's a damn rare first month impression for me!

I have not heard Bell Witch, but really enjoyed Tyranny's new album, about as much as this one (in fact I mentioned this release on your Tyranny review); I'd like to give both a few more listens. I don't know if I like the live recording production on this album - I keep wondering if a studio recording would've sounded better, or at least less distracting without the audience's applause/noise. Presently, next to Ahab my other favourite (funeral) doom album this year is Shape Of Despair's Monotony Fields.
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01.10.2015 - 10:23
Rating: 8
Daniell
_爱情_
Written by Auntie Sahar on 01.10.2015 at 05:32

There really have been some excellent funeral doom albums this year, more than usual it seems. Bell Witch, Ahab, Tyranny, now this

8, 9, 8, 8. Definitely a good year for doom. Right off the bat, I'd add Shape of Despair to this list.
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01.10.2015 - 13:23
Auntie Sahar
Drone Empress
Written by MelancholiaC on 01.10.2015 at 07:54

For me personally, Ahab takes the crown at the moment - The Boats Of The Glen Carrig could possibly end up being my No. 1 top album, not only for this year but even for the past 2-3 years. More time and listens may be required to evaluate, but that's a damn rare first month impression for me!

I think it's Bell Witch for me. The other three albums I mentioned, as well as Shape Of Despair, are all fantastic, don't get me wrong. But with Bell Witch, I'm just repeatedly blown away by the fact that they can conjure a sound so grand, lush, and layered with just two people. HUGE example of the "less is more" principle being applied in music. I'm biased of course to a certain extent: as a bassist, I have immense respect for Dylan Desmond and the wide array of sounds that he gets out of his six string, and he's definitely an example that can be looked up to.

I'd highly recommend you check out Four Phantoms pronto. This track especially is just majestic as fuck.
----
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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20.10.2015 - 17:39
Lethrokai

Weird. I normally pay really close attention to your recs in doom, as your taste in that area usually resonates quite strongly with my own.

Yet here, I'm not really feeling it... Something just feels missing in this release for me. I dunno, maybe I needed a bit more fuzz to really capture the atmosphere or something, but all I know is that this album just feels rather empty to me.

Hoping time might change that.
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Sometimes you just need to roll the dice and look away.
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