Sinister Realm - Sinister Realm

November 30, 2009

Reviewer: Chris

Good doom is hard to find.

Well, doom that’s actually innovative and somewhat unique, which I understand is a difficult task since it’s been making the rounds in various incarnations since 1969. Still, the occasional gem filters through the sea of “same-old, same-old,” such as Warning from the U.K., Bible of the Devil, Japan’s Church of Misery, and Sahg. As I’m attracted to anything to do with evil or Satan (call it my Venom phase that has been a phase for the last three decades!), I was happy to see yet another doom metal band dedicated to the old-school feel without subscribing to the typical Scandinavian sound. Pennsylvania’s Sinister Realm is going to be part of the new wave if enough people notice their talent.

For a band that’s only been around a year they have all of the right elements to compete with any of the big guns out there. I try not to bother with comparisons when it comes to doom metal since there is no real deviation from the genre. All I can do is point out that the music has modern Sabbath written all over it, mixed evenly with today’s fine technology. The vocals are strong, not overpowering or boring like some bands tend to be - think Messiah Marcolin without such bravado and you have Alex Kristof - and the musicianship is early Sabbath meshing with very obvious Candlemass/early Ozzy (DOAM) sound. Some standouts here are “The Nihilist”, “March of the Damned,” and “(The Oracle) Into the Depths of Hell.” With such a myriad of mediocrity spanning our beloved genre these days, it’s always refreshing to find a band that makes damn good music without using the same boring formula that seems to permeate the music.

Doom has always been a solid sub-genre, but too easily entered into by seemingly uninspired bands that recycle Sabbath and St. Vitus riffs to death. If you’re looking for some solid doomy music to seclude yourself with, then this might just do the proverbial trick. Sinister Realm is the band’s first full-length and I’m honestly hoping for some more in the coming months, as well as a small tour of the surrounding states, since I’m only two states west of them.

Classic sounds for the modern metal fan.

Release Date: August 18th, 2009
Label: Shadow Kingdom Records

TRACK LISTING

1.  (The Oracle) Into the
     Depths of Hell
2.  Machine God
3.  The Demon Seed
4.  Message from Beyond
5.  March of the Damned
6.  The Nihilist
7.  Mongol Horde
8.  Enter the Sinister Realm
9.  The Circle is Broken

Total playing time: 46:02

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