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░ ██ ██ Artist: Wall of Sleep ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: When Mountains Roar █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2010 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2011-02-27 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Metal ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: PsycheDOOMelic ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ Hungarian band Wall of Sleep are back after a 3 █
█ year break from recording with a new full-length █
█ album, "When Mountains Roar" and a new lead singer █
█ in Cselenyi Csaba. After forming in 2002, the band █
█ got off to an amazing start with the excellent █
█ "Overlook The All EP in 2003, the equally awesome █
█ "Slow, But Not Dead" in 2004 and their best album, █
█ (in my opinion) "Sun Faced Apostles" in 2005. They █
█ then kind of lost the plot when they released █
█ "...And Hell Followed With Him" in 2007, an album █
█ most people would agree would have better off with █
█ a few songs dropped and made into a EP. Wall Of █
█ Sleep have never suffered in the musicianship █
█ realm, they have always had great players but the █
█ vocals have always been an issue with this band █
█ and despite having a new vocalist on this album, █
█ it seems that issue continues to haunt them. The █
█ new guy up front is ex-Stardrive's Cselenyi Csaba █
█ and he is an improvement over previous singer █
█ Gabor Holdampf, the man who was rather unfairly █
█ called the "Yogi Bear" of Doom Metal. The other █
█ immediate improvement with this album is the band █
█ have a new-found freshness and maturity while █
█ maintaining all the infectious groove that has █
█ been one of their trademarks over the years. █
█ "...And Hell Followed With Him" was an album that █
█ had the groove but at least half the songs sounded █
█ like a limp-wristed attempt at Doom Metal, █
█ basically the songs lacked any spark. This new █
█ album, "When Mountains Roar" brings back the spark █
█ found on earlier releases but again sadly the █
█ singing is well, average at best but more about █
█ that later. █
█ Being named after a Black Sabbath" song you would █
█ expect a plodding kind of doom to hit your █
█ eardrums but Wall Of Sleep actually sound more █
█ like Dio era Sabbath than Ozzy era. This album █
█ also seems to suggest the band are moving away █
█ from their trad-doom roots into a more █
█ straight-forward Stoner-Metal sound, they have █
█ always been heading in that direction anyway but █
█ on this album, they have arrived firmly within █
█ that genre. The riffs still pack a doomy punch at █
█ times however as in my personal favorite of the █
█ album, "Receive the Pain." Also, the band is still █
█ all over the place in terms of influences, █
█ Cathedral, Trouble to Down, C.O.C, The Obsessed █
█ and even Thin Lizzy can be heard in snippets █
█ throughout this album so there is plenty of █
█ variety. Unlike the last album, there is no █
█ filler but also really nothing that totally blows █
█ you away either. Along with "Receive The Pain", █
█ opening track "Hungry Spirits" kicks with an █
█ infectious groove and "Raven Avenue" is close to 7 █
█ minutes of some hair-raising majestic playing. The █
█ rest of the album doesn't stand up as well but it █
█ doesn't fail either, it is just by-the-numbers █
█ Stoner meets Heavy Doom Metal with some heavy █
█ organ thrown in for good measure. Basically to put █
█ it in a nut-shell, if you have listened to Doom █
█ Metal for more than a few years then you have all █
█ this a million times already but when Wall Of █
█ Sleep nail a tune, they work some magic. It just █
█ doesn't happen often enough for my liking. █
█ This brings me to the subject of vocals, the new █
█ guy is better than the previous singer but he █
█ sings in a style that seems to go against what the █
█ music is doing. The vocals are at times a little █
█ abrasive for the music sounding out-of-place, it █
█ is not really bad but a more melodic vocalist █
█ could have done wonders for the album. I stress █
█ this is just my opinion but it is how I hear it. █
█ Despite all that, this is a big step forward after █
█ the last album and deserves to win the band some █
█ more fans. The "Sun Faced Apostles" album still █
█ reigns as their best album but this comes close at █
█ times so I can still recommend it. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. Hungry Spirits 5:17 ░
░ 2. Receive the Pain 5:07 ░
░ 3. Into the Light 5:07 ░
░ 4. Raven Avenue 6:41 ░
░ 5. Hell Sells 4:47 ░
░ 6. Bitter Smile 3:55 ░
░ 7. Trapped in Sorrow 4:05 ░
░ 8. Army of the Dead 7:26 ░
░ 42:25 ░
░ ▒ ▒
▓ █ ░ ▓ ░
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