Three

Three is - not very surprisingly - the third album from US/Mexican doom death project Majestic Downfall, who seem to have cracked the key to doomy bandnames with an extremely apt summary of the feeling experienced when listening to Swallow the Sun or early Katatonia. I was introduced to the group by fellow MA-er Colin040 due to a shared love of Paradise Lost, Katatonia, and October Tide, which shows how well he judged this release. These pastures sure are my kind of thing.

At times, Three also shows a familiarity with genuine death metal, as shown when ‘White Dark’ becomes dramatically choppy and gruff, channelling hatred in addition to misery, landing somewhere near the varied style of My Silent Wake. I really enjoy the diversity on offer, since doom death does have a tendency to spend too long on certain sections and obsess about mood more than riffwork. Majestic Downfall (here made up of mainman Jacobo Córdova with help from a drummer and lead guitarist) produce riffs of all natures, structuring most songs with repeating parts, if not anything hooky like a singalong chorus. Indeed, almost all the vocals remain harsh and strong, sort of like a more controlled version of the performance Jonas Renkse gave on Dance of December Souls; that should give you a clue that some nuance can be glimpsed in the delivery, although a weird tendency to utter sudden squeals of sadness sounds more like a parody of black metal styles than something strictly necessary.

Additionally to all the riffs and roars, melody plays a big part in the story of Three. Often sombre and pleasant, the melodies adjust themselves to the transitions in these 7 lengthy songs, becoming more of a focal point during the slower passages. Some guitar solos also take a central role during the few moments they appear, such as the soaring tones of ‘Lifeless’, which is a far cry from its title in an emotional sense. Despite more flexible deathly exploits than the Brits were ever capable of, ‘Funeral Winds’ reminds me of Anathema when a voiceover strongly resembling Vincent Cavanagh’s gloomy tones enters the fray following on from a few majestic leads. Each song offers something slightly different, often bringing to mind some of the best names from doom death’s annals, until ‘Federica’ closes the album with simple clean guitar playing and a feeling of coming to terms with things.

You will probably eat up Three very happily if any of the bands mentioned in this review appeal to you, while the heavier and more riff-centered approach could potentially endear Majestic Downfall to fans of more extreme metal styles. The best thing about the album is surely that it keeps a sense of continuity despite changing tactics at times, and ends up feeling fairly distinctive regardless of the other sounds it reminds of. Pretty majestic indeed.