Toward the Empyrean

Anyone who has read any of my reviews is fairly well aware that I’m not much a fan of most extreme metal, and also that I’m a bit of a speed freak. So what on earth, you might ask, am I doing reviewing a proggy death/doom album?

Well the truth is twofold. First of all, I’m acquainted with a couple of the members of Adora Vivos. Secondly, I tend to review things that pique my interest and capture my attention, and while I can’t say that Toward The Empyrean is something that will find constant rotation with me, it is a rather striking and distinctive piece of work that has me re-evaluating my take on the genre of doom. For this reason, I’ll attempt to suspend my biases and review this EP for what it is.

Let’s get any negativity out of the way. I’m not too big on harsh vocals unless used texturally. Even in fast melodic death metal, they’ve been slow to grow on me. But despite not being an immediate attention-grabber (at least from the perspective of a power/prog listener), I think Toward The Empyrean is rather easy to get into. Chucking the harshes aside- they’re decent , but not a part of the appeal of the album for me- this album is a slithering monster when it comes to the harmonic wall of clean vocals that permeates every track. It’s hard for me to express just how essential this element is to the band’s sound. It is what makes this EP quite unique, and it’s what has me hooked through the throat. Complemented by the oft-subdued but thick and heavy instrumentation, the three-part vocal harmonization delivers all of the melodicism necessary to entertain me quite sufficiently, while also crisply delivering wonderfully descriptive, somewhat abstract lyricism.

Doom is doom, often whether progressive or fused with other subgenres, and I won’t deny that I’m not overly entertained by this instrumentally. There are a couple of spots where Adora Vivos surprises, however, by picking up the pace with a moderate tempo charge, like a lumbering ox breaking into a baleful rush. Nowhere does this work better for me than the segue into “Acceptance And Negation”, the strong midpoint of the album, and just where I felt that a change of pace was necessary. While single “These Dark Roads” and the not-at-all dull titular ten minute closer are solid compositions, it is “The Ruin Of Tranquility” and “And So Begins The Fall” that give me some chills, lyrically and melodically. Nowhere, I feel, is the band at a stronger creative focus. The oft-plodding pace of doom metal is transformed here into a sometimes furious, sometimes solemn, but always inexorable advance towards whatever aethyr that the band seeks.

And so, despite my prejudices, I give Toward The Empyrean a strong recommendation. Heck, if I can get hooked on this, there are many, many listeners who will. Props to this group for taking the chance of plunking this in front of me, for as it turns out, they’ve done what only While Heaven Wept and some Candlemass have managed in the past: getting me to voluntarily choose some variety of doom metal over my regular addiction. I beg readers to pay particular attention to the fact that the score here reflects my personal taste: that being the perspective of someone who does not routinely enjoy this band’s chosen niche. Frankly, I can’t imagine any full time fans of doom (and even the proggy folk aesthetic) who would, with a few exceptions, find this anything less than excellent.

Original review written for Black Wind Metal