Seven Acts to Apocalypse

It’s hard to find that many really exciting twists in classic doom metal these days, so The Evil coming up with more than one makes them well worth checking out. In the first place, we don’t hear a lot of slow sub-genres coming from Brazil, while the presence of Wagner Antichrist (here featured as Iossif) from Sarcófago shakes up expectations before we’ve even started. However, the presence of vocalist Mistres Wournous truly sets the quartet apart, since her rangy voice augments the bruising riffing with multifarious potential avenues, from epic doom to operatic metal and from psych hauntings to sludgy rumblings. Considering how crushing the Electric Wizard instrumental stylings can be, not to mention how familiar the “seven sins” concept feels, Seven Acts to Apocalypse ends up somehow liberating and spontaneous. The effect may be compared to The Devil’s Blood writing songs for Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard to interpret.

Despite the slightly off-the-cuff nature of the singing, the album works like a constant presence over the course of 43 minutes, breaking down into occasional gloomy passages of suspense and highlighted moments with keyboards, though the main focus remains the overpowering weight of guitar that hugs a few massively effective stoner contours. As instrumental music, it would be a dank session of quite some efficacy, assisted by the monstrous punch of the bass. Through the grandiose play-offs between simple rhythms and operatic call and response, however, it truly becomes a force to be reckoned with and a fuller depiction of the vivid hell that the cover art and lyrics provide. The Evil could go both ways too, either deeper into the underground from where they came or out into the light afforded to their relatively accessible sound, so it is essential to see where they head next.


Originally written for Metalegion #13 - www.metalegion.com

Brazil’s The Evil has gone through some considerable upgrades since their 2017 self-titled debut. Seven Acts of Apocalypse sees a new singer brought into the fold along with a more theatrical scope applied to their take on occult doom. Having each song represent one of the seven deadly sins also gives it a purposeful angle, even if identifying gluttony with voracity is an interesting choice.

The musicianship does well in playing out the album’s premise in dark epic splendor. The vocals are more commanding than those of the debut, exhibiting a bluesy howl occasionally dipping into some operatic flourishes and occasional choral layers, and the guitars take on a crispy molten tone. The rhythm section also ensures dedication to the largely crawling pace with the bass still maintaining the debut’s prominent yet murky presence.

And with a premise that essentially writes itself, it’s interesting to see how the individual songs play into their themes. It certainly makes sense for “Pride” to make the most of that symphonic flash and the closing “Wrath” has an appropriately brutal plod, but I also appreciate the irony of “Sloth” actually being the most upbeat track with its pushy chugs. “Greed” might be my personal pick of the lot, utilizing its creeping bass-driven build with heavy escalation and especially ominous vocals.

Overall, Seven Acts to Apocalypse is those one of those albums that seems specifically designed to appeal to me as a listener. I’m always here for this sort of epic doom and there are enough interesting factors to give it an interesting identity, even if it might’ve benefitted from a more fluid execution. Anybody into bands like Smoulder, Stygian Crown, and King Witch would do well in giving The Evil a shot.

The Evil is a doom metal band from Minas Gerais, Brazil which you may or may not be familiar with, but if you’re fan of Brazilian metal scene, you may or definitely know their guitarist Iossif, better known by many as Wagner “Antichrist” Lamounier of former Sarcofago fame. As of recently, which was on March 31st, their second full-length album Seven Acts to Apocalypse was released via Osmose Productions. The Evil may not be considered as an exemplary band with a lot of hype surrounding their recent release or overall reputation, but I am certain that fans of Brazilian metal bands such as myself, are very much intrigued to hear what they have to offer.

The music of The Evil is very apocalyptic sounding doom metal with a big focus on the occult and satanic themes, comprised of extremely wicked, slow and sometimes catchy doomy guitar riffs, evil melodies, operatic and clean female vocals by Mistres Wournous, which at first glance reminded me a lot of Farida Lemouchi (ex-The Devil’s Blood). Apart from these wicked riffs and melodies, you will come across other interesting bits such as bell sounds on “Envy” and keyboards on “Sloth”, that add more flavor to this form of wickedness. These traits of songwriting are constant throughout the entire album and don’t stray away at any point, which certainly creates and upholds that feeling of impending doom from start to finish. Maybe some people may not like the female vocals, because their misguided instinct might lead them to believe that they’ll be hearing some growls, shouts and screams on top of extreme doomy riffs, but I must say that these female vocals are indeed a fine addition and a welcome change which breaks away from the expected doom metal template of the modern age. Whatever you make of these operatic female vocals, I personally like them a lot and I consider them very suitable for this kind of music. Although the music of The Evil is mostly considered to be doom/stoner metal, I personally wouldn’t call it so much stoner doom since it doesn’t rely heavily on stoner metal styled songwriting and lyrical themes typically used by Electric Wizard and Sleep, despite there being some musical resemblance. The Evil is much more apocalyptic and eerie in their sound when compared to aforementioned bands, and would probably be more suitable for fans of occult oriented doom metal. What I find interesting about the album is the concept of seven deadly sins, which beside the album title is also present in songs themselves, focusing individually on each deadly sin, with “Envy”, “Sloth”, “Voracity” and “Wrath” being some of my personal favorites (songs that is). The album’s production has very heavy and sharp sounding guitars and drums, with vocals being the predominant factor beside the instruments. One important thing to note is that it’s not the case of fuzzy distorted guitars and bass, which was heavily abused by so many bands that completely mishandle everything, even the entire point of using that sound.

Seven Acts to Apocalypse is a heavy and wicked album with an eerie occult atmosphere of the coming apocalypse, and is definitely a release that you must check out, especially if you’re a doom metal fan. I can’t say for sure that this album will draw more attention from this kind of audience in the future, but I think that The Evil deserves a bigger word of mouth and not just support. I was totally surprised how this album turned out to be in terms of both concept and overall execution, and I love it for being so “evil” in every way possible.

Written for www.Metalbite.com

‘Seven Acts to Apocalypse’, predictably segmented into seven tracks each dedicated to a deadly sin, is fundamentally the work of a so-so stoner doom outfit elevated beyond their station by a very talented vocalist, one whose eclectic range brings drama and borderline symphonic weight to these rather flat Electric Wizard offcut riffs and – dare we say – quaint retro psychedelic occultism. Mistress Wournous’s vocal diversity traverses the bombast of Candlemass, to emotive alt rock crooning, to gravelly ritualism. Evidently operatically trained, she is able to commit to each genre without compunction, with her style bleeding into the surrounding music, thus shifting its overall orientation and impact.

Perhaps this is a little unfair to the remaining members of The Evil. Each track is littered with two or three memorable riffs, and scatterings of character beyond the loose drone of tritone fuelled stoner doom. It’s just that the style they play in is by now rather dated even if we speak in revivalist terms. The trend of Black Sabbath aping psychedelic stoner doom triggered by the likes of Electric Wizard and brought to its zenith by Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats looks rather tired in 2023. The Evil bring some much needed energy and activity to the framework, but if it were not for Mistress Wournous’s vocals I probably would not have even filtered this out for review.

The music is well produced, exhibiting the industry standard analogue organicism for this genre. A dirge of bass ridden guitars fleshes out the bulk of the mix, with loose yet busy drums stitching together the gaps between each droning chord together with creative fills, exhibiting patterns that do not overly rely on crash cymbals (another common failing of the genre) despite their heavy use. Thundering bass serves its purpose in lending some much needed gravitas. Ancillary keyboards and “weird” guitar effects further populate the mix with welcome activity and character.

But most importantly, each song is defined by at least one memorable theme. Development may be found wanting, but The Evil do a good job of communicating a lurking sense of menacing ritualism, of commandingly dark spiritualism defined by a rampant intoxication that is ultimately the central thematic pillar of stoner doom.

But it is left to Mistress Wournous to bring that extra edge to this music that graduates it into something truly exceptional. Clean vocals are always a risk within a metal setting, it being the instrument most tied to a sense of individualised emotion that threatens to bring the listener out of the cinematic experience. Or at an even more basic level, one may simply be averse to a particular vocalist’s timbre.

But here they are delivered with such commitment, talent, and range that it gives The Evil another dimension to play with, one not available for many of their peers. Indeed it warps not only the thematic and emotive impact of the music, but even the genre itself, allowing it to bleed into traditional heavy metal, symphonic metal, and heavy psych with ease. This leaves us forced to regard ‘Seven Acts to Apocalypse’ as a shining example of how to resurrect this stale subgenre from its current mire, and bring a sense of motion to the otherwise tepid creative cul-de-sacs it currently finds itself in.

Originally published at Hate Meditations