DOOMRAISER (Erasing The Remembrance) 2LP/CD
I was definitely sacred off by the title of DOOMRAISER's first demo 'Heavy Drunken Doom'. No, I haven't lost my sense of humor, but I have always been bored by party bands, no matter what musical genre it is. There are more interesting topics than your latest bender, especially when you're older than 25 years. Due to this my interest in this Italian band was very small. However, at the end of 2009 I received DOOMRAISER's new album 'Erasing the Remembrance', released by Blood Rock Records in the same year and exclusively distributed by Black Widow Records. So, I have tried to listen to this album without any reservations, because everyone deserves another chance. I must admit that I was really surprised by the emotional depth of their songs. The main reason for this intensity is because of the vocals of Cynar who doesn't try to imitate another well-known singer in the doom metal genre. If I had to compare his vocals with another vocalist it would be Keith Caputo (Life Of Agony).
Soundwise DOOMRAISER draw their main inspirations from Maryland's heavy music scene, which pleases me very much. They launch a lot of truly, bluesy heavy riffs including numerous variations in pace. Although the lengths of the songs is between eight and fifteen minutes, they manage to keep their material interesting. In between you can hear additional instruments as, for example, a flute which causes a nice seventies vibe. DOOMRAISER's tricks may all have been turned before, but they're damn good tricks, and performed here with a youthful glee. Some people may not like the stuffy production, but I think it is perfectly suited to this album and also emphasizes the dark atmopshere of 'Erasing the Remembrance'. In total, here we have a quality album, which, fortunately, doesn't fulfill all the expectations of the genre. Oh yes, not to forget, the double vinyl version contains two bonus tracks: 'Dune Messiah' (Buffalo cover) and 'Caves, Mountains and Monolith' that has been originally issued on the split 7” with Midryasi.
(KK)