Sludge metal/doom is what the bio states
From what I gather, this is a project by one guy while waiting for band members to join in. Nothing wrong with that of course, as it keeps things productive by getting music out there and will hopefully make it easier to attract new members along the way. I was tempted to go down this road myself, using drum machines and having tired of getting musicians around the same headspace as myself. However, I am not Trent Reznor and luckily found some highly skilled musicians to work with who could do many things I could not make the songs much better than they were before.
As for the genre, well, Doom is much broader, but when I think sludge, I think Melvins, Buzzoven, Eyehategod. It can appear similar to the sort of stuff that the stoner metal guys do at times but with more of a punk/hardcore styling, and the vocals are nowhere near as melodic as stoner metal. This album does not convey either doom or sludge to me, but for the sake of giving you something it sounds like, it’s definitely more of a slow, black metal type feel especially with the vocals, though the electronic drums will always give it a slight industrial edge.
Starting with some nice clean guitar work, the opening instrumental track “introduction to darkness” builds slowly, creating an eerie mood. Visions of desolation, the title track, begins with a heavily distorted guitar intro and we get to hear the vocals for the first time. Vocals are growled and quite good.
At about 2.45 there is an unusual interlude as the song rebuilds. The song is nearly 8 minutes which is not unheard of, but the problem is, without the involvement of other talented musicians, it does tend to suffer from repetition, especially in the drumming department.
One last hope opens with a lively guitar intro, before the drums kick in, and has quite an industrial sound. This is a much stronger track, and the more aggressive guitar work and vocals seem to be a strength and an area to seek further mileage out of perhaps. Definitely my favorite track and the standout in my opinion. Also clocking in over 6 minutes.
Eternal Bliss? opens with a quiet guitar intro and is a quiet, atmospheric piece. All for nothing begins with a picked riff before dropping into some incredibly slow and heavy riffing. Some parts of the drum mix are particularly cluttered here and it’s difficult to make out what is going on at times. The vocals join in finally at over 3 minutes and are quite intense.
While I don’t dislike it, I am not going to listen to it again in a hurry ahead of all the other new stuff I have in front of me. It’s a tough and very narrow genre to make a dent in, and even tougher when you’re doing it all yourself. And yes, studios and sound engineers are a lot more expensive, especially putting down the drummer’s tracks, but you will get a very different quality of sound than this. There is definitely potential there, however, and I look forward to hearing what can be produced when other collaborators join in.
Visions Of Desolation: Facebook
Release Year: 2013
Label: self-released
Category: Compilation
Country: Australia
Reviewed by Matt
