The End

Based in Syracuse, New York, Poisoned by Life is a three piece doom metal outfit that was formed in 2014. Despite their lack of longevity, Poisoned by Life’s debut album, The End, is a maturely written yet crushingly heavy album full of everything that doom fans crave; darkened atmospheres, sauntering grooves and a keen sense of melody. Those looking for a very dreary and downtrodden take on traditional doom should look no further, as The End is bound to please.

The End showcases a fantastic production job that focuses on the low-end, without taking away from the vocals or guitars. It allows the slow yet powerful drums and extremely thick and fat bass lines to keep a continuous flow of punishing low end tempos pulsing from the pit. That being said, the guitars are certainly not weak and brittle, as the mix gives the riffs more than enough spark to cut through the thundering rhythms, which is where Poisoned by Life truly shines. The interplay between Vincent Wisehoon’s stolid guitar riffing and Sarah Schuster’s thundering bass is remarkable, as these two play off of each other in a way that seems like they’ve been at it for decades.

The guitar riffs are engaging, yet not overbearing. By allowing the subtle ebb and flow of the rhythm section, the riffs seem to thrive and grow a life of their own. Despite the solid songwriting and tight performances, no one is overtly showy or pretentious. Glendon Allen’s drumming, in particular, is a prime a example of getting the job done right while not acting like a street performer that’s dying for your spare change. Perhaps that’s what makes The End so charming despite it’s depressive subject matter and down tempo pacing. Vincent Wisehoon’s vocals deserve a special mention, as he summons a fragile and somewhat haunting sound, similar to a younger sounding Messiah Marcolin or Sami Hynninen. I could go on with descriptions about the clear, emotive delivery, but it should suffice to say that it’s impressive that a young man from upstate New York can summon the sounds of the doom legends with such ease.

Poisoned by Life’s debut album sounds like a band that’s been playing together for ages. All of the instruments are able to build off of each other, never really reaching for the spotlight, content instead to just bolster the heaviness. The End is certainly an album to check out and one that should please doom fans of all sorts. Poisoned by Life’s debut album is available at Bandcamp as a pay what you can and also available as a limited handmade / home burned CD. In short, this is crushing heaviness brought forth by hymns of depressiveness and despair and tempered by a fantastic, yet humanly frail vocal performance.

Written for The Metal Observer.