Rochester, NY doom titans Orodruin are no strangers to Toronto, having played up here several times over the years. However, they had been strangers to the studio until recently – with sophomore album Ruins of Eternity coming out almost 17 years(!) after their debut, and 7+ years since their last release of any kind. But hey, as they say, doom is a dish best served slowly…
The album opens on a slow, sombre note with “Forsaken,” a gloomy, haunting number that soon settles into a steady, slow-paced stomp and a searing, emotional chorus that brings Warning to mind before picking up the pace around the three-minute mark. “Man of Peace” comes on strong with a hefty doom riff right off the bat, leading into a more mellow, vocal-driven verse and a clean chorus that oozes grief a la Apostle of Solitude. “Grave Illusion” is even more melodic, with shades of Pagan Altar in its folksy verse, although its chorus is sufficiently head-noddingly heavy.
The lumbering “Letter of Life’s Regret” is perhaps the most melancholic number on here, a longing, five-minute dirge with soaring, plaintive vocals. It’s worth noting that they pack a lot of emotion into relatively compact tracks – none of the aforementioned exceed the six-minute mark. In contrast, “War on the World” is a more uptempo march, clocking in at a shade under 4:30, while “Into the Light of the Sun” has a soaring, chant-along chorus reminiscent of Manilla Road.
“Voice of the Dark” might be the song most at home on their distant debut, anchored by a crunchy, steady, trad-doom-metal chug. But while Ruins of Eternity is definitely a more melodic take on doom than their first record – less Gates of Slumber and more Apostle of Solitude – this is not a bad thing by any stretch.
(Cruz del Sur)
