TRACK LISTING

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1. The Dark Host
2. Harvest Scythe
3. Buried
4. What Could Have Been
5. Of Age and Origin -
    Part 1: A Violent Day
6. Of Age and Origin -
    Part 2: A Day of Joy
7. Six Sides
8. Shadow Play

Total playing time:  50:51

Release Date: May 15th, 2011
Label: The End Records

Novembers Doom - Aphotic

Reviewer: Garett

August 13, 2011

I was a little disappointed in Novembers Doom’s last album, Into Night’s Requiem Infernal.  It wasn’t bad, but it followed The Pale Haunt Departure, and The Novella Reservoir, two albums that I consider the best in the band’s extensive catalogue.  Novembers Doom are one of those rare bands that seem to have hit their creative peak relatively late in their career, and I was afraid that they may have been running out of gas.  Given my thoughts on the last album, I approached Aphotic with bit of apprehension.  It didn’t take very long for me to figure out that my fears had been unfounded, as Aphotic is a quality release.

Aphotic’s lead off track, “The Dark Host”, is a very well constructed song that shows off a little bit of everything that Novembers Doom has to offer.  The bulk of the song is built around heavy mid-paced death metal, which skillfully blends into a lush, clean mid-section.  The transition out of this soft interlude is both abrupt and perfectly executed, launching into a an aggressive up-tempo blast, before moving into more mellow territory again.  “Harvest Scythe” follows, and continues with aggressive mid-paced approach, mixing a good bit of melodic guitar work in with that nice heavy death metal riffing.  This time, the clean and death vocals are traded off in shorter intervals, with the cleans accompanying the more melodic sections.  It isn’t until the third track, “Buried”, that we are presented with a traditional death/doom song, making me think that Novembers Doom have almost outgrown the confines of that genre.  “Buried”  is an excellent song,  capping the compelling three song run that introduces Aphotic.

“What Could Have Been” is an expansive string accompanied ballad that features a duet between Kuhr, and former The Gathering vocalist Anneke van Giersbergen.    This is a good song, and the heavy dose of Anneke will be a treat for fans of The Gathering’s 90’s material.  Despite being an enjoyable song, “What Could Have Been” takes a little steam out of the album.  The three tracks that follow are good, but fail to fully recapture the momentum that had been built by the album‘s scorching opening trio.  Things fall back in line with “Shadow Play”.  This is another more traditional death/doom song, that builds slowly to an absolutely cursing crescendo, and closes the album on a high note.

Kuhr is a very underrated vocalist, and he is able to convey a wide range of emotions through is voice.  He demonstrates good control of his death vocals, keeping his growl well enunciated without sacrificing any of the power or grit that you would expect from a death metal vocalist.  His clean vocals come off as strong but somber, avoiding the overly whiney quality that plagues some of his contemporaries.  Kuhr’s voice is the lynch pin of Novembers Doom’s sound, but the ability of guitarists Larry Roberts and Vito  Marchese to successfully weave melodic guitar work with traditional mid-pace death metal riffs strikes me as equally important.  Aphotic’s high end production also adds a lot to the final product.  It is worth noting that the album was mixed and mastered by Dan Swano, a guy that always seems to find just the right sound for any band that he works with. 

Aphotic is a fine album that is really a step up from its predecessor.  While the album comes across as being just a little soft in the middle, that is only because the three songs that open the album cast such a long shadow over the rest of it.  Novembers Doom clearly have a lot left in the tank, and continue to separate themselves from the death/doom genre.  Maybe that tag still fits, but only because there isn’t another that fits any better.  This is a really good band, they have been for years really.  Anybody who likes good heavy music, and enjoys a mixture of growled and clean vocals shouldn‘t hesitate to pick up a copy.