The Eternal Battle

Doomsword is a band that I don't always celebrate or admire, but it's a project I can most certainly respect. They cling to their own vision of epic metal, stubbornly (and foolishly?) defying the temptation of catchy c major choruses in favor of a more restrained version of their beloved favorite music style. And when they presented "Steel of My Axe" on the predecessor to this album right here, their first real fast song in the form of an absolute be all end all facemelter made me hope that a newly discovered form of dynamics would bring me and this band closer together. "Speak to my axe, then to me." You owe it to yourself to listen to that ass kicking bastard of a hard and catchy song on an otherwise very restrained and therefore sometimes boring album. Not every doom is worth dooming, I guess.

Is it a bad sign that I write about the best song of another album in the past before entering the actual one? I guess it is. The eternal battle. Hopes were high. Once you go full speedy double bass tent burning, you never go back. Let Jesus fuck you! But hold on, before we go any further: What the hell happened to Deathmaster's vocals? Did he have a cold or something? His hammering halfgod featherhelmet barbarian king dominance tenor voice seems to be replaced by a chain smoking half yell from someone that just came from the pub where he had two steaks and fourteen shots of whatever was the cheapest. Ahem...epic? Most certainly not. Dude, you used to sing and roar like you just beheaded Poseidon, man!

The songs itself left the very slow stomping grounds and entered a more rocking mood, but no agile hit like "Steel of My Axe" paves the way to stardom. It would be impossible with these new shitty vocals anyway. I hope for him that it's just a cold. My god, what a downgrade. "Wrath of the Gods" doesn't work without the ballsy vocals of old. That goes for all the other songs as well. Sometimes it feels like he is pretty close to whispering. Cut that shit out, my gorgeous bearded homie! The guitar riffs are typically Doomsword. Not really easy going, half doomy, enemies of real catchiness, sometimes kinda atmospheric, sometimes really not. Well, if the band likes them, I won't get in the way. The songs on The Eternal Battle are most certainly enough to entertain you during a car ride with your buddies, but I don't see great artistic introspection or life changing melodies that shatter every heart they reach. Maybe Doomsword and I were never really meant to be, as much as I am still infatuated with their general vibe.