REVEREND BIZARRE (Harbringer Of Metal) CD
The self-called servers of traditional Doom Metal are back! Currently, this Finnish trio are everybody's darling in the Doom Metal underground press, and they get praises everywhere as if they are the biggest doomed invention since the early days of Saint Vitus. Well, this will always be a big secret for me, and no matter how often I listen to "Harbringer Of Metal" I can't understand this enthusiasm about REVEREND BIZARRE. This album causes a very twisted feeling inside me, somewhere between boredom and joy. What I really like is the thick production that is much better as on the previous album "In The Rectory....". Especially the bass is sending out some low and heavy waves, and the drums are sounding clear and powerful. Then here are some of the best cuts this band had ever released like the instrumental opener "Harbringer" or the psychedelic "Into the Realms of Magickal Entertainment". I wonder why this guys have recorded such a track, because they hate "psychedelic hippie shit".
Anyway, that's not my problem. Other nice songs are "From The Void" or "The Wandering Jew", but they are simply too long. I've got nothing personal against tracks with a running time of 18 or 20 minutes, when there are enough convincing ideas, but whenever I listen to REVEREND BIZARRE it bores the shit out of me. "From The Void" is close to very early Cathedral or Burning Witch, but they stretched this songs like a soup in a worse restaurant. The same about "The Wandering Jew" where they embedded an emotional guitar solo and, of course, some good riffs but it's not soo convincing that one needs 18+ for it. Maybe only the self-called servers of traditional Doom Metal...... The album closes with a cover of "Dunkelheit", taken from Burzum's masterpiece "Filosofem". There were times when I liked this band much more, but nowadays I don't know what to think about them. Once again - decide for yourself!
(KK)