Writhe

When it comes to doom metal with obnoxiously long songs, I tend to shy away because I know what's coming: long, monotonous riffs and tempos capable of inducing sleep.  However, when it comes to Boghaunter, this isn't the case.  Taking on modern doom metal with a blackened approach, Boghaunter create atmosphere, show emotion, and keep the music fresh and exciting all while remaining true to the roots of doom.

Let's take a look at the part about how Boghaunter keeps their music fresh.  Within the first track, there are plenty of clean guitar pieces along with doom-filled riffs.  One riff in particular that comes to mind is the first one played after the clean intro.  It lasts for roughly four minutes.  Four minutes is about the length of your average death metal song and about an album worth of grindcore.  That is to say, it's a long time to be playing just one riff.  It may seem like it could become dull.  That is not quite right in this situation.  Boghaunter add atmospheric guitar parts behind the riff later on to add depth to the song so that it doesn't become boring.  They also don't keep it too slow.  It's all done at a nice, mid-paced tempo that doesn't dip too low to be boring, but doesn't go too high.  This is nice because I often feel like doom metal has been getting slower as the years go on.  To hear a band that remains true to the normal tempo used by Pentagram and Black Sabbath in the 1970s and 80s is nice.

Boghaunter also spices things up by using clean vocals as well as harsh vocals.  They don't overuse the clean vocals, making them more special when they occur.  It gives the music more atmosphere and character.

This EP has plenty of great things to offer (notably the fact that the bass doesn't always stick to what the guitar is doing).  In fact, I am having a hard time finding anything wrong with this EP.  The production is good; it's not the best, but this kind of music doesn't really need good production because it would, in my opinion, sound worse with better production.  The riffs and structure are both great, spreading the good sections evenly throughout the music.  I look forward to a full-length from this band.

Overall Rating: 100%

Originally written for themetalvoid.wordpress.com