This Maryland-based band features players from doom-metal mainstays Revelation and Pale Divine, yet they aren’t really doom, in the traditional sense. There is a strong 70’s influence here, but without too many lugubrious tempos; more of an uplifting sound inspired by everything from 70’s power ballads to 80’s power metal.
Righteous Bloom, their second album, kicks off with “Nazriff,” a grimy old-school rocker that shows shades of Pentagram…but also Blue Oyster Cult. High-pitched vocals soar above guitars that set the distortion dial to “doom,” but the overall effect is less downtrodden than typical Maryland fare. The driving, straight-ahead attack of “The Soulless” is more akin to power metal a la Helloween or even 1970’s Judas Priest, while “Hardluck Melody” offers up a winding riff straight outta The Obsessed’s playbook. Ditto sixth track “Within Trance.” The Wino is strong with this one!
The slow, crunchy waltz of “Rat Poison Parfait” precedes another number, “Eternal Waltz,” which sounds a little more like a sea shanty…in any case, it’s a pretty decent power ballad with thick, chunky riffs. A tasteful organ begins the seven-minute title track, which takes on a song structure similar to The Doors and drops some thick, chuggy doom riffs right in the middle. There’s also at least one Geezer Butler bass line before a soaring guitar solo.
The album ends on a more peaceful note, with “Peace Mind,” a heavy, airy number that might not sound outta place on the latest Earth record. If you wanna make doom sound uplifting, this is the way you do it.
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https://abstractdistribution.bandcamp.com/album/the-righteous-bloom
