Imindain - And The Living Shall Envy The Dead review
| Band: | Imindain |
| Album: | And The Living Shall Envy The Dead |
| Style: | Death doom metal |
| Release date: | 2007 |
| A review by: | Marcel Hubregtse |
01. Buried Room
02. Nausea
03. Black Water
04. The Curse Of Knowing And Becoming
05. Men Shall Become Vessels
06. This Empty Flesh
Funeral Doom/Death
Weird Truth Productions/Ostra Records
England 2007
Total Running Time: 50:02
Digipack cd (limited first pressing of 1000 copies) can be ordered at http://www.weirdtruth.jp/releases/wt025.html
Gatefold vinyl LP (limited to 500 hand numbered copies) http://www.ostra-records.com/productions.php
Line-up on cd:
L.C. Bullock: Vocals
D.S. Lowndes: Lead Guitar & Backing Vocals
K. Clayton: Bass
J.M.C. Cox: Guitars
S. Booth: Drums
Current line-up:
L.C. Bullock: Oration and Rhetoric
D.S. Lowndes: Disharmonics and subliminals
M. Lovatt: Qlippothic resonator
M . Whiting: Subsonic spherical blast fronts
D. Tibble: Deathhammers
You know that feeling that you're sure you're onto something very special? Well, that feeling of elation hit me when seeing these Englishmen perform on the first day of the Dutch Doom Days VI in Rotterdoom last November. They just totally blew me away, especially Lee Bullock's extreme vocals and menacing presence and the melodic guitar work. So after the gig I decided to buy both their debut cd and the gatefold vinyl version of it.
First thing that catches the eye is the beautiful eerie artwork adorning the digipack cd. SO, first impressions are good. But let's not judge the cd by its cover. It is still the music that has to do the talking, right?
After the initial rolling thunder/tsunami sound mournful guitars fall in accompanied by slow drums and a tad later the intense low growl of Lee and from that moment on you just know, Hell, this is it, and hell has never been so good to me on a debut album and the living shall truly envy the dead cause this brimstone and treacle treatment is warm and heartfelt.
The sound can best be described as a mix of Winter and Messiah's song Space Invaders with that typical English melancholic doom/death feel to it.
But what really sets it apart from most other funeral doom/death bands are Lee Bullock's vocals which soar from low grunts to Van Drunen type grunt screams, to almost blackish screams, to almost clean very very low vocals and back.
Other distinguishing features are the melodic clean guitar lines and solos floating over the heavy slow meandering foundation which was brilliantly put into 0s and 1s by Greg Chandler (Esoteric, vocals, guitars) at The Priory Studios.
Although the six songs, which clock in at 50 minutes, are extremely mournful dirges and at superficial listen are devoid of all hope and filled to the brim with despair, all still breathe hope and that all is not lost due to the melodic guitar parts and the almost military marching drums on songs such as "The Curse Of Knowing And Becoming" and "Men Shall Become Vessels". When the band shifts into a higher gear and speed up proceedings the feeling of general elation gets a hold of you and makes you want to chant along.
It has been a long time since I was last grabbed by a debut album as much as I was by this one. And I think that with the right sort of support Imindain can become a big player in the field of funeral doom/death, especially considering that one of their main songwriters is still at the tender age of 23.
Surely my debut of the year together with Obsidian's Emerging (although that is a totally different sort of metal) It's been spinning its rounds continuously since November 3rd and was a great accompaniment to watching the entire Twin Peaks series.
Highlights: The Curse Of Knowing And Becoming, Men Shall Become Vessels, Nausea, Black Water, Buried Room, This Empty Flesh
To check out Nausea and Black Water go to their Myspace site: http://www.myspace.com/imindain
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 10 |
| Songwriting: | 9 |
| Originality: | 8 |
| Production: | 9 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse | 05.01.2008
Comments
Comments: 18
Visited by: 104 users
| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071  |
Do check this little pearl out.
---- 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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| Southern Wind Account deleted |
Southern Wind
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You're overrating this Marcel, it isn't that good and it doesn't has anything to add to the death/doom genre (I don't see them as funeral). It is indeed a dark album and not bad at all, but I expecting more after all the buzz the sorrounded this release inside the doom metal circles. A 7,5 would be fine if you ask me. Or maybe I'm just becoming a snob asshole. Or probably I had been listening too much to Indesinence's "Noctambulism" lately, so now nothing sounds DOOM enough for me 
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by [user id=5080] on 05.01.2008 at 21:18   Quote: Well, now that was an album that totally didn't live up to my expectations to be honest. And The Living Shall Envy The Dead did get a tad higher a rating than it would have had if it hadn't been a debut and I wasn't blown away by them live, you gotta take that into consideration as well, I guess. As for the funeral tag, I do hear some slight funeral influences in there. But then again I am one of those people who prefer calling Evoken funeral to doom/death 
---- 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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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by [user id=5080] on 05.01.2008 at 21:36 I have been working on Wijlen Wij for a long time now but somehow it seems to be impossible for me to get the feeling I get on paper.  At times it is almost house funeral doom (or at least in one song)
---- 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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Southern Wind
Account deleted Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 05.01.2008 at 21:38 Take your time, if there's one thing I can't stand in reviews is when they say "I can't find the words to describe this". house funeral doom??? it's more like garage funeral doom but I know what you mean. That was actually was mostly surprised me of the band. Considering the band members, I thought the sound would be much cleaner.
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by [user id=5080] on 05.01.2008 at 21:44 The total sound might be garage sludgy funeral doom or something like that, bt what I meant was that in one song I clearly heard techno house beats okay but this is best saved for the review of Wijlen Wij whenever I finish it.
---- 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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Southern Wind
Account deleted Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 05.01.2008 at 21:49 hahaha that post had a K7's vibe
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
K7's vibe 
---- 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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| TOUGHEST MEMBER Posts: 3618  |
Very heavy, though I think this stuff is easier to get into than the latest Evoken. The vocal sing like mourning.
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| Narterath Posts: 613  |
I've ordered this a couple of days ago from Ostra Records. Can't wait for it to arrive.
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by Narterath on 06.01.2008 at 13:09 So you ordered the vinyl version? That one is ooo cool. Although does have a spelling mistake in the name of one of the recording members. INstead of Clayton it says Klayton.
---- 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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| Narterath Posts: 613 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 06.01.2008 at 13:11 No, I ordered the CD, Ostra had it as well. I rarely buy vinyl versions of albums, only if there isn't a CD version available (like the Mournful Congregation/Stone Wings split from Ostra, which is just great)
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by Narterath on 06.01.2008 at 14:46 I see, somehow I thought Ostra Records only had the vinyl version. That split is great yes, I bought it together with the Ataraxie vinyl, Funeralium double vinyl, and of course the Imindain cd and vinyl at the Dutch Doom Days VI last November 3rd.
---- 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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| Narterath Posts: 613 |
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| Marcel Hubregtse Grumpy Old Fuck Elite Posts: 40071 |
Written by Narterath on 06.01.2008 at 14:51 Hahahaha empiness did take over my wallet that day cause I also bought about 20 cd's that same day. To complete my Officium Triste, Forsaken, Mirror Of Deception collections as well as stuff from bands playing those days of which I had nothing orignal, like Autumnal, Helevorn, Heavy Lord and some more
---- 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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| Narterath Posts: 613 |
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 06.01.2008 at 14:54 I feel my pocket lighter while reading this
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