It could be argued that "doom" began life when four working class guys from Birmingham, then called Earth but now known as Black Sabbath, discovered that by slowing down their heavy grooves they actually sounded heavier and more menacing. This newer slower heaviness took off and was soon embraced by bands from right across the globe with bands, like Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus, Pentagram and Pagan Altar, picking up the mantle Sabbath had forged and putting their own spin on it, in turn inspiring others to do the same. Doom has gone through many changes since Tony Iommi's slow vibrato kicked started the movement and doom these days comes in a variety of flavours ranging from harsh and brutal through to low, slow and funereal but even today, and despite all its sub-genres and offshoots, that original doom sound still holds sway and can still send shivers rippling down the spine.
Portland Oregon's Troll, Rainbo (vocals), Wayne Boucher (bass), Ryan Koger (drums) and Lou VanLanning (guitar), understand this and that knowledge and history has inspired them to create "Legend Master", a true doom masterpiece!
"Legend Master" is no ordinary doomic tome, here we have five intelligent and well constructed songs put together with a lot of thought and a high level of musical skill. "Legend Master" is a concept album. the second instalment of a trilogy, that tells its tales of dragon ships, eternal battlefields and spiral eyed goddesses swathed in an atmospheric blend of progressive rock and doom, traditional, proto and stoner, the band seamlessly weaving these styles/genres together to create a sound that is as beautiful as it is bleak. The words "sinister" and "menacing" tend to get a used quite a bit whenever we talk about anything doom related but those words become redundant when applied to "Legend Master" as like all the best fantasy/sci-fi novels there is an air of sorrowfulness and regret to be found amidst the albums lyrical content, a feeling that the main protagonist's sword rattling and shield brandishing is executed with a sense of regret rather than any sense of malice. Musically "Legend Master" is equally on point with Koger and Boucher laying down thick. solid layers of intricate and complex groove for VanLanning to hang his thunderous power chords and swooping solo's on while Rainbo spreads the icing on the cake with a voice that is as emotive as it is powerful, his weary melancholic tones sitting perfectly with the mournful nature of the albums lyrics and the sombre heavy music they are surrounded by.
"Legend Master" is that doom album you always wanted to hear but never expected to be made, an album that is intelligent as it is groovesome, an album that marries the old with the new without the need to go into extreme territories, an album you have to hear.
Check it out ….
© 2019 Frazer Jones
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