The Piper at the Gates of Doom

Doomshine, God bless their poor Germanic hearts, are a band who run into major problems right from the get-go, and most of them have very little to do with the quality of the music on albums such as this one. Chief among them is that their formation dates back to 2000 - which should give you a fairly good impression of how such a band is likely to be received by most doom metal fans.


Doomsters don't much like new strings to this particular bow - barring of course any project that Scott Wino might choose to associate himself with nowadays, most fans aren't liable to think too kindly of any record that isn't bookmarked by Candlemass' debut and the last Sleep record. Modern recordings are simply too slick, too refined for their palettes, lacking the gritty spice that apparently can be achieved simply through a fuzzy production.
As if this wasn't an obstacle enough, Doomshine hardly do themselves any favours with such gigantic gaps between records. Any band like this forming after the turn of the century is going to have to fight tooth and nail to gain a modicum of respect, and two records over a mammoth ten year period isn't exactly the best of starts.


But of course, when the personal tastes and tendancy towards fickleness of the doom crowd is taken out of the equation, the only thing that remains to be analysed is Doomshine's music itself. And, for the most part, 'Piper at the Gates of Doom' fares excellently well. This is a record that will be no great revelation to anyone who's heard every single slow-shuffling bit of output from every Black Sabbath pseudo-progeny, but it's an album with charms all it's own.


Chief among these is the songwriting, which, while it fluctuates here and there, maintains a fairly consistent degree of excellent quality throughout. What Doomshine might lack in Electric Wizard-ish droning, they make up for some stunning songcraft, the most prominent example of which would be the utterly stunning 'Hark! The Absurd Angels Fall', which is in possession of a truly show-stopping chorus line, while 'River of January' wouldn't sound out of place rubbing shoulders with the best of Nevermore. The bands buried proggy tendencies are few and far between, but when they do emerge as on 'The Crow Pilot' and 'Waltzhalla', they're a delight to listen to.


Sadly, though, Doomshine are underdone a great deal by two factors, one of which has already been made mention of. The simple, sad fact is that the production here hampers the record enormously - every aspect of it has been polished to perfection, and while that might normally be an admirable trait, here the exact balancing of the levels mean that nothing rings out with any special aplomb; not to mention that the album has to be turned up damn loud to even get a semblance of the crushing sensation that most good doom can induce without breaking step. Secondly, and perhaps more forgivably, the band do fall into the trap of repitition a few too many times for comfort; as good as some of the ideas here are, they can quite often be stretched thin from over-extension.


A sterling example of what can be achieved with modern doom metal with the right set of chops, 'Piper at the Gates of Doom' may never quite manage to charm those gates open, but it might just be the first step on Doomshine's road to true excellence. An album well worth looking into.


[ Original written for www.fueled-magazine.com ]

For a while a few years ago I got the feeling doom metal was maybe about to take its place in the proverbial spotlight, at a time when Candlemass were reinvigorated after reformation, Reverend Bizarre were reigning supreme, the likes of Gates of Slumber were heading the underground and in the big leagues Black Sabbath/Heaven & Hell released a stonker of an album in "The Devil You Know". Bolstering this line-up were the Germans Doomshine, essentially a tribute band to the genre but on the basis of 2004's "Thy Kingdoom Come", a pretty faithful and good one at that. Their Solitude Aeturnus-like take on the genre, epitomised unequivocally across every cell of "The Piper At The Gates Of Doom" is an album whose success can only ultimately be judged by the state of the genre around them - good doom times and this is a worthy addition to the genre; lean times and it's an outdated album from a band stuck in the past.

Being more 'follower' than 'leader', anyone who knows epic doom metal but not Doomshine will be delighted, but not surprised, by the contents of album no. 2. In songs like "Sanctuary Demon", "The Crow Pilot" and "Waltzhalla" Doomshine make good by sticking to the true doom template while injecting the tracks with an undertone of classic heavy metal riffing, slowed down to suit the prerequisite classic doom speed. Having taken the slow and lurching style propagated by Candlemass rather than the slooow doom of this writer's personal heroes in Reverend Bizarre, Doomshine offer no grand variation in style or tempo but do possess in Tim Holz a set of lungs well capable of supplying the epic and bringing the sadness as he flourishes in songs like "Cold Cypher Ceven" where he is given plenty of room to display his armoury atop the solid doom riffing behind.

Like Dawn of Winter and Count Raven, Doomshine are a fine doom listen for any occasion with two albums worthy of joining the annals of true doom, but in "The Piper At The Gates Of Doom" the monotone nature begins to wear after 70+ minutes as the feeling of having heard it before becomes too great to ignore. Worry ye not however; recent converts to epic doom will be greatly excited by this album and it is fully worthy of purchase, just after you've stocked your collection with the works of Candlemass and Solitude Aeturnus first.

Originally written for www.Rockfreaks.net