Doomriders
Darkness Come Alive

You've been listening to heavy metal your whole life. You switched to stoner-doom since the chubby Mr. Justin from Electric Wizard took you by the hand and led you into the tentacled arms of ancient Lovecraftian creatures. You stumble upon a group called Doomriders on the web, everyone speaks highly of their latest effort, “Darkness Come Alive”: you think with a name like that you can't let them slip by, only to discover that with doom they have little more in common than the inviting moniker. Maybe it's because Nate Newton (as vocals and guitar) and Kurt Ballou (as producer) are involved in the group, both straight from Converge, another band you adore but haven't revisited for a while due to a recent physiological aversion to listening to anything traveling above 45 bpm.

You'll even find the album in your hands a couple of times at the usual megastore, and you almost decide to buy it just because you know you wouldn't find it in Rome even by mistake (one of the 5 reasons living outside Italy is called HMV). In the end, with your hands already full of the latest rare gems completing the discography of your favorite bands (“Tab…” by 'Magnet for 5 pounds? Mine!), you decide not to buy it and to acquire it by other means. Said and done, one morning you slide it into your iPod to give it a chance during the journey to the university (an hour by bus, damn them…). You listen to it. The next day, you're back at the usual megastore, queuing to buy it.

Because this, folks, is a great album. As far as I'm concerned, it's one of the most valid things I've heard within its genre, or rather, genres. Yes, because even not being, as already mentioned, properly doom (at least in the most traditional sense of the term), the album reaches peaks (or rather, abysses) of decay that dive deep into the sludge and the most tarry heavy of Down. They are doom, so to speak, as are High On Fire: perhaps only in approach, developing into something different; in this case, a sound that blends extreme metal (after all, we're still talking about half of Converge) with a more properly hardcore twist. Even vocally, Newton's excellent performance is reminiscent of a middle ground between Matt Pike and, at times, (it's my impression) the singer of the southern-hardcore group Every Time I Die.

Excluding the very brief instrumental intro, practically the first 5 tracks are each more beautiful than the last, from the first real track, “Heavy Lies The Crown”, to the stunning almost title track, “Come Alive”. And how can one remain impassive to the imposing riff that explodes halfway through “Lions”? Or the menacing opening of “Jealous God”? Or the last “Rotter?” Really, the quality of the tracks, all very short and therefore even more impactful, is such that never has a track-by-track been more futile: it's one of those albums to listen to in its entirety, without seeking this or that key track, one of those albums that if you're distracted for a moment you find yourself already at the next track. A breath of fresh air (and at the same time “unwholesome”) for those like me who usually grind through the dozens and dozens of minutes of classic doom tracks.

If you like even just one of the names mentioned so far, give it a listen and tell me. For me, it's one of the contenders for the album of the year title along with the latest from the “parent” band Converge (which I hope to review soon) and the blue album by Baroness, and an excellent recovery after the absolute disappointment of the latest Fu Manchu.

As you've guessed, highly recommended.