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Rating: The desolation of an abandoned field inhabited only by scarecrows, the anger of being defeated, the sadness when every form of love and comfort is missing in life. Ghosts that often return in the themes of Novembers Doom, an American band active for 12 years and famous as one of the most authoritative realities in the Doom/Death Metal field.
After starting as indirect heirs to the sound of My Dying Bride, they have reached their final artistic maturity and independence with "The Knowing" (2000), establishing themselves with "To Welcome The Fade" (2002), in which, however, influences typical of a certain avant-garde metal from bands like Opeth and Katatonia were often felt.
Building on the success achieved with its predecessor, Novembers Doom exceeded expectations, bringing to light an authentic, powerful, and touching masterpiece in 2005, by releasing "The Pale Haunt Departure". The coordinates of Novembers Doom's sound are well defined: powerful and paced riffs, slow rhythms, and a balanced dose of anger and melancholy. "The Pale Haunt Departure" is a haunting and twilight album like its cover, where death rhythms and dreamy acoustic tracks blend perfectly. Above all, the voice of the colossal Paul Kuhr, one of the most expressive and intense singers in the scene, devastating in growl and gentle in clean, and author of all the lyrics, very concrete and less transfigured into metaphors (an atypical thing in a genre like this) but not inferior for this reason.
The title track that opens "The Pale Haunt Departure" is a feral sonic blow of indescribable proportions, fairly sustained in its unsettling progress, and dominated by a chorus, if it can be called that, almost anthemic. It is certainly one of the key points of the album and one of the most beautiful Doom songs I have ever heard, it is also worth mentioning its lyrics. In addition to the title track, there are certainly other moments where the progress becomes feral and the sound of the American band becomes closer to that of the early Paradise Lost or My Dying Bride, see the colossal "Swallowed By The Moon" supported by martial rhythms fading into an acoustic and dreamy refrain or the long track "In The Absence Of Grace".
Besides the opening track, at least three other masterpieces are contained in "The Pale Haunt Departure". First of all, "Autumn Reflection" in which growl disappears, one of the most touching tracks in the entire Doom scene, where the atmosphere becomes truly dramatic especially in the chorus and moving in both the lyrics and the touching melodic passage that closes the piece. Also notable is the perhaps most driving song of the album, characterized by an absolutely unmissable text, that is "Dark World Burden" built on an engaging chorus that immediately prints itself in memory thanks to its slightly rock feeling. The whole is seasoned with straightforward and heavy verses like boulders where the aggressiveness of Kuhr and his band can be felt. Worth mentioning is the concluding and devastating "Collapse Of The Falling Throe" opened by a pure Doom Metal riff to then leave space for a complex yet accessible death structure. Chilling is the central passage where Kuhr reaches surprising expressive peaks with the growl.
In essence, we are talking about a masterpiece of rare beauty for fans of the genre. A melancholic, sad album permeated with anger but absolutely far from any rhetorical and clichéd pessimism. Without a doubt, Novembers Doom represents one of the bands that have best learned from the masterpieces produced by this genre in the early '90s without falling into imitation but creating personal and heartfelt works, so I recommend listening.
You will not be disappointed.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 The Pale Haunt Departure (05:44)
Born upon angelic dirt
we crawl from filth to rise
Speak my name for the sake of life
For this creed will slowly turn
Light escapes this shell of mine
The pale haunt departure
A dying wish to rise again
And leave behind a scarecrows fate
Only those who have suffered long
Can find the light within the shadows
A first hand trial of mislead hope
For this is the day of our wake
Light escapes this shell of mine
The pale haunt departure
A dying wish to rise again
And leave behind a scarecrows fate
So I rise above to look below
and see the shedding coil
The ascension process to reunite
my passion for life through pain
Your trust in faith
Light escapes this shell of mine
The pale haunt departure
A dying wish to rise again
And leave behind a scarecrows fate
02 Swallowed by the Moon (05:57)
I'm sorry you will never know me,
But know I always loved you.
Will you remember when I kept you safe?
Will you remember when I made you smile?
Once again the daylight fades, and I'm swallowed by the moon
Will tomorrow bring a new day of hope?
Will this experience fill you with rage?
The enemy time, knocks at my home
I can no longer hide
Please forgive me, I never meant to leave
But know that I had you as my final thought
Will you remember when I held you tight?
Will you remember the sound of my voice?
Once again the daylight fades, and I'm swallowed by the moon
Will this experience scar your fragile mind?
Will you remember when we would both laugh?
Memories is all that you have
And I'm sorry I failed you in life
I wanted more for you then I could provide
Be strong and make your mother proud
Don't cry... The tears in your eyes
My time... To say my goodbyes
Heaven waits... My soul to arise
Torture, torture... My pain finally dies
Will you remember that I tried my best?
Will you remember the father I was?
Once again the daylight fades, and I'm swallowed by the moon
Will you look back and smile for me?
Will you remember me when I have gone?
Memories is all that you have
And I'm sorry I failed you in life
I wanted more for you then I could provide
Be strong and make your mother proud
03 Autumn Reflection (06:06)
I remember yesterday
The rain fell to the earth
For I dream of your arrival
And color my dark world with faith
Knowing you would be the strong one
To keep my focus in close view
I thank the heavens above
For the angel beside me today
The guardian of my sanity
The one who will save my soul
If I ever doubt the faith I hold
I only need one smile from you
And an autumn reflection
will deliver me to your arms
Someday you will understand
How much you mean to me
for every day that passes me by
I long for the person you will become
I thank the heavens above
For the angel beside me today
The guardian of my sanity
The one who will save my soul
If I ever doubt the faith I hold
I only need one smile from you
And an autumn reflection
will deliver me to your arms
I am stronger now
Since you came into my life
With a thought of your smile
I remember yesterday
05 In the Absence of Grace (08:09)
Heaven is so far away from this Hell, Carried by the wings of shadows pain
Why did you turn your back, And leave me without your grace
Fallen so far away from the light, Courage will no longer be by my side
I stand here all alone, Waiting for you to see my need
I'll give my life for you, You'll see the fallen man
Heaven is so far away from this Hell, Carried by the wings of shadows pain
Why did you turn your back, And leave me without your grace
Fallen so far away from the light, Courage will no longer be by my side
I stand here all alone, Waiting for you to see my need
I'll give my life for you, You'll see the fallen man
I had trust in you, no more lies, I end this now, and walk away
So pathetic it's come to this, If you only could see my side
I live with this every day, and the struggle overwhelms me
For the loveless, And for my wake
Only when I close my eyes, And the day draws to an end
Thoughts of you stronger then me, increase my faith in hate
For the child, And for my heart
Only when I close my eyes, And the day draws to an end
Thoughts of you stronger then me, Increase my faith in hate
Always dreaming of better days, Since cast out from your sight
I'll live with the life I lead, And smile that you're no more
Why did you turn your back, And leave me without your grace
Fallen so far away from the light, Courage will no longer be by my side
I stand here all alone, Waiting for you to see my need
I'll give my life for you, You'll see the fallen man
I'll give my life for you, You'll see the fallen man
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