Band:	Worship
Album:	Dooom
Style:	Funeral doom metal
Release date:	October 19, 2007
A review by:	Deadsoulman

01. Endzeit Elegy
02. All I Ever Knew Is Dead
03. The Altar And The Choir Of The Moonkult
04. Graveyard Horizon
05. Zorn A Rust-Red Scythe
06. Devived
07. Mirror Of Sorrow
08. I Am The End - Crucifixion Part II

Never mind long introductions - this, my friends, is a very special album, for a couple of reasons:

First things first, unlike most albums nowadays, "Dooom" is aesthetically impressive. The artwork of the cross-fold digipack version is simply beautiful: these grey pictures of fallen leaves, abandoned graveyards or post-nuclear holocaust city ruins have something that catches the eye. They are in perfect harmony with the rest of the album. Worship need to be congratulated for giving as much thought to the visual aspect of their art as to its actual content.

It is also very special due to its background. It took seven years to actually record it. The band began working on it in 2000, but in 2001 their vocalist and founding member Fucked Up Mad Max jumped off a bridge and the band split up. They reformed in 2004 and released "Dooom" in 2007 as a tribute to his memory. The man even appears on vocals on a couple of tracks. You cannot find a better tribute than this album.

When it is done correctly, funeral doom is probably one of the most proficient genres at conveying pure emotion. Worship, for all their slowness - and believe me, this is the slowest album that has been released in a decade - are actually very good at creating 'sonic worlds' of their own with only the smallest amount of tricks. At first sight, "Dooom" can be viewed as a monolithic, minimalist album which pushes the usual features of funeral doom (a speed ratio under 30 bpm, ultra-cavernous vocals and suicidal atmospheres) to the extreme limits. Now let yourself drown in it, and you'll see that although definitely minimalist and extreme, "Dooom" is not as monolithic as it may seem. It is all the small side elements that come on top of the funeral doom basics that really hit the mark and make it a very 'visual' experience. It's those mournful, almost dissonant guitars at the end of "All I Ever Knew Is Dead". It's those crepuscular, hypnotic guitar leads, so slow but so convincing. It's this combination of low clean vocals/clean guitars/melodic guitars/ringing bells on "Graveyard Horizon". It's those distant mad screams on "I Am The End". It's those chilling choirs which appear at regular intervals all along the album. It's those bleak piano parts on "Zorn A Rust-Red Scythe", and the epilogue played by The Doommonger and Fucked Up Mad Max during their last session before the latter took his life. It's this new, awesome approach to a Solitude Aeturnus song ("Mirror Of Sorrow"). It is, finally, the simple fact to recognize the greatness of a band that most will overlook because such music is not their cup of tea, or just because they won't want to make the effort of opening themselves to something different.

Never mind long conclusions - this, my friends, is a very special album. But you'll need to find out why by yourself. Some things need just be felt, not dissected.