Monoliths of Ancient Times

Epistle play an interesting take on doom. The tempo and dirge-like quality of the music gives it a more doom-death feel (the band call it funeral doom, but I personally don't feel the pace is slow enough, although it definitely shares musical traits), except the band almost exclusively uses clean vocals (there are some rasps/growls on the final track). I'm not sure if it's a branch-off that I enjoy and approve of but it certainly is unique.

The melodies and compositions don't grab me or move me very much, although they're certainly capably played and aren't really offensive to the ears. The slow, repetitive riffs are a little too plain and don't really do much for me, the leads are somewhat random sounding and not as chilling as they should be in a style of music where piercing emotional leads are essential. As I said, not really offensive, the guitarwork and drums (simplistic and playing the background a bit) don't bother me or anything, but I switch off whilst listening to it as they don't seem to really have anything that draws me into the atmosphere.

The vocals on the otherhand are a little bothersome. The vocalist almost has a folk-black metal type tone, and I can't put my finger on quite what he (or they, there are three apparently but they all sound the same) is doing wrong, but I'm very aware of the fact that I'm listening to a band of people here, whereas listening to say, Skepticism or Esoteric makes me feel like I'm listening to some unfathomable multidimensional force (it's unfair to compare any new doom band to Skepticism or Esoteric but it's just an example). Here, it just sounds like a young person moaning, and the and it tends to grate a bit after a while. And, since the guitarwork and compositions leave a bit to be desired the vocals don't do a very good job of strengthening the compositions...the vocal melodies don't do anything particularly interesting and the vocals themselves aren't very strong (although they sound more powerful in the final track, which is probably the highlight of the demo).

Epistle isn't a terrible band but they definitely have room for improvement. I think working on the vocals (and perhaps the way the vocals are mixed) and taking more time writing the compositions should do the band a world of good.