After four years, Sydney
based death/funeral/doom metal band The Slow Death has returned with their
second full length offering, simply titled “II”. This is a concept album, as
was their first (which was based on the Bubonic Plague), focusing on the story
of the last humans on Earth, who are forced to slowly die of hunger and
exhaustion as they struggle survive in a never-ending desert wasteland.
Their sound can best be described as very slow-paced and
depressing death/doom with both female and male vocals, in parts melodic and
aggressive in other parts. The female vocals, provided by Mandy Andresen, tend
to take the lead with Gregg Williamson’s growls showing up for a few verses in
each song (as best evidenced in “To Your Fate”, which is also my favourite song
on “II”). Mandy’s vocals take a rather depressing mid-range tone, as oppose to
the more angelic and operatic vocals she provided on the first album, while
Gregg’s vocals are very evil and sinister sounding. The actual music rarely
picks up in pace and definitely lives up to being doom metal without dragging
things out and boring the listener, which is great because the album runs for
over an hour! The guitars are heavy and crushing, with a tasteful keyboard
element to complement the riffs. The drumming, provided by Yonn (Nazxul,
Backyard Mortuary, Temple
Nightside and more) is
pretty much what you would expect from this type of doom, plodding along with
the riffs and driving the listener towards the realms of despair.
The production may be too “clean” for some people, but I
feel it’s necessary to bring out everything the songs have to offer. A messy
and raw recording just would not do at all as far as I’m concerned. Each
individual instrumental part and vocal line can be heard with excellent
clarity, which allows each band member to shine without favouring any
particular instrument in the mix.
I would recommend picking this, and their first, album up if
you’re into well-written doom metal that depresses just as much as it crushes.
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