When Reverend Bizarre penned their tongue-in-cheek anthem “Doom Over the World” back in ’05, I’m not sure they could have foreseen a doom outfit from India invoking them 10 years later. This is actually album number two from the Bangalore-based Bevar Sea, whose Billy Anderson engin-eared debut landed them a slot at MDF in 2012. Can’t say I’ve heard it, though the name does ring a bell.
I actually think it would be awesome to hear an instrospective doom band with lyrics about the struggles of living in a third world country… but that’s not what we get here. “Bearded and Bizarre” ambles along like mid-paced (newer) Candlemass, with vocals initially akin to Orodruin’s Mike Puleo or Greg Deiner from Pale Divine, eventually incorporating some deeper growls once they drop the pace to a crawl. So they definitely check all the true doom boxes. I think they’re even singing about wizards!
I was dreading that “Bury Me in NOLA” would be half-baked Down worship, but while it’s somewhat sludgier than its predecessor, it’s definitely trad doom. I’d say they’re still well within the rectory here, with pacing and phrasing that recall the Bizarre Reverend. “Sleeping Pool” hits like a metric fuckton of bricks, a heavy intro riff giving way to a vocal-driven verse before the guitars kick in again, sounding sorta like the bastard child of Saint Vitus and Fu Manchu.
And while RevBiz tended to get bogged down in the same, super-slow-mo tempo, there are enough time changes in tracks like “Where There’s Smoke (There’s a Pyre)” and “The Grand Alignment” to keep things from getting boring. A solid sophomore output, in my books.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bevarsea
Bandcamp: bevarsea.bandcamp.com
