Band:	Early Moods
Album:	A Sinner's Past
Style:	Doom metal, Heavy metal
Release date:	March 2024

01. Last Hour
02. Blood Offerings
03. A Sinner's Past
04. Walpurgis
05. The Apparition
06. Unhinged Spirit
07. Hells Odyssey
08. Soul Sorcery

If you're someone that wakes up in foul Moods Early in the morning, then Early Moods have something here that'll lighten up the rest of your day in joyous headbanging fashion.

American heavy/doom metallers Early Moods set a high benchmark for themselves when they unleashed their impressive self-titled debut back in 2022, a traditional-sounding doom release that many of us were so taken aback by. To put it short, the debut was something of a nostalgic revival of the golden traditional heavy/doom era that introduced us to the likes of Black Sabbath, Candlemass,and Pentagram, and whilst Early Moods clearly took inspiration from such bands, they still managed to deliver a certain level of freshness, adding their own characteristics to into the mix, which is something one could argue many other bands in this category lack nowadays. Now, the band are back 2 years later, introducing their sophomore A Sinner's Past, an album that promises to match, or even exceed, the quality of the debut.

That promised is delivered upon as A Sinner's Past trumps Early Moods in several areas. Firstly, there's a vast improvement in sound quality; it's much heavier and meatier than the debut, incorporating a lower-mid fuzzy stoner tone with a distorted grunge effect reminiscent of Soundgarden. Second comes the songwriting; the riffs are definitely all the more striking than those on the last outing, brimming top-to-bottom with memorable hooks one after another, and the classic early Scorpions-style twin guitar leads are also a standout feature. Along with the improved instrumentation, founding member and frontman Alcaraz has also made slight steps up in the vocal department; you'll notice several changes in his approach, from his Ozzy-style haunting wails and passionate doomy cries, to his possessed evil screams (particularly on the track "Blood Offerings"). The occult-inspired lyrical content also gives the album a more mysterious, sinister, and darker edge than the debut: all sounds good, doesn't it?

Coming in at 50 minutes in length, this album isn't exactly on the short side, but then there's rarely a dull moment to be found throughout its duration for fans of the style, so the length is arguably justified. Kicking off with the opening track "Last Hour", listeners will be immediately struck by the almighty powerful tone; I highly recommend playing this sophomore directly off the back of listening to the debut, as you'll get a clear understanding of just how far Early Moods has evolved from a standard traditional heavy guitar tone to the low, fuzzy 90s stoner/grunge tone used here. Another noticeable element is in the actual riff structures themselves; it's not just the tone that's changed here, but also the band's ability to write much more memorable riff melodies, from heavy mid-tempo doom slogs in the vein of Candlemass, to faster Manilla Road-style epic gallops, and this opening track features it all. However, it's in the closing moments of the song where things really begin to develop; the rhythm section pounds away and becomes increasingly prominent as the tempo ratchets up, and the twin guitar leads of Oscar Hernandez and Eddie Andrade finish the track off emphatically. This fine form only continues throughout the following tracks.

Now, of all the songs featured on this relatively consistent-in-quality album, it's "Walpurgis" that stands out above all for me. This is without a doubt one of the band's best efforts to date, an instant modern doom classic featuring some of the most catchy riffs the genre has to offer. It's an inspirational moment wherein sounds reminiscent of Iron Maiden collide with those akin to Candlemass, resulting in a joyful and memorable track that I myself will surely be repeating for some time, and I'm convinced you will too after hearing it.

Now, Early Moods aren't a band that aim to impress us with originality, technical wizardry, or progressive mastery; instead, what we have is a rather simple but expertly crafted blend of traditional doom and heavy metal. If you're someone who's after quality traditional heavy/doom that delivers some good old 70s and 80s nostalgia, rendered with the distinctive heavy sound of the 90s, and produced with great performances and catchy songwriting, then Early Moods have you covered in regard to that. If you thought highly of the self-titled debut, then I'd expect you to be similarly fond of A Sinner's Past, and the biggest sin here would be missing out on listening to the album.