Novembers Doom
Amid its hallowed mirth (CD) 1995 Avantgarde
It's no secret that the Europeans have been more succesful than the Americans in the death/doom genre. Novembers Doom, however, have proven with this release that they may well be strong competitors to the likes of My Dying Bride and Anathema. If their debut had been released a couple of years earlier, they would have been a far more accomplished band. Anyway, this album offers nine solid songs with great grunts. The production is not perfect, actually far from it, but it just adds to the bleak atmosphere. Songs like 'Tears of the Beautiful', 'Sadness Rains' and 'Chorus of Jasmine' are simply excellent. The guitars are slow and crunchy while the drums are sometimes tedious as they get repetitive throughout the album. 'Amid Its Hallowed Mirth' shall not disappoint any doom fan. Thumbs up!	1. Aurora's Garden 2. Amour of the Harp 3. Tears of the Beautiful 4. My Agony, My Ecstasy 5. Bestow My Desire 6. Chorus of Jasmine 7. Dance Of The Leaves 8. Sadness Rains 9. A Dirge of Sorrow Approx. 48 minutes Remasterd and re-released in 2001 by Dark Symphonies with new artwork
Reviewed by: Bojan Janjanin
For Every Leaf that Falls (Mcd) 1997 None
After being dropped by their first label, Novembers Doom had more then a little trouble getting signed again. These troubles ended up in them releasing this self produced Mcd, of course in the hope of getting signed again. Fortunately for the Doomed community, they did indeed score a record label and this Mcd became sort of a collector's item (it was only available through the band). The 3 songs portray Novembers Doom doing what they do best; playing European influenced romantic death-Doom. It is clear that Novembers Doom gets its influence from bands like My Dying Bride and Co. But though the combination of the female vocals by Cathy Jo and the male grunts/clean vocals by Paul Kuhr they do offer a variety not often heard. Of course the male vs. Female vocals are almost a cliché these days within the Gothic-metal community. But not only was Novembers Doom doing this long before most other bands; musically they have no ties to bands like Theatre of Tragedy or Sins of Thy Beloved: they play Doom! Also on these 3 songs most of Cathy Jo's work is limited to atmospheric "oooh'ing" and the occasional "aaaahaaa'ing", while Paul tackles the lyrics. People who own the follow-up release, 'Of Sculptured Ivy and Stone Flowers', will probably have noticed that all 3 songs of this Mcd are also featured there. The songs however, are not 100% identical. These versions are slightly harder and heavier. But I doubt most people will truly notice this. At least the differences are not big enough for you to now quickly surf to Ebay and putting down a massive amount of cash for this release. You can be quite content with the versions on 'Of Sculptured Ivy and Stone Flowers'.	1. For Every Leaf that Falls 2. The Jealous Sun 3. Dawn Breaks Approx. 18 minutes
Reviewed by: Aldo Quispel
Of Sculptured Ivy and Stone Flowers (CD) 1999 Martyr Music
With, just as on their first album, the album title taken from an Edgar Allan Poe poem ("City in the Sea" this time), Novembers Doom returns with their second full length album. That no label had picked them up sooner always surprised me, but I guess the old saying "better late then never" holds true here. Compared to their debut album, Novembers Doom has grown a lot. Through the years they have clearly grown as musicians, and while still clearly influenced by the European Death-Doom scene, they have developed a more hard hitting edge (as often found with other US Death-Doom bands). The songs seem to be written to hit you in the face and demand the attention they deserve. Unlike with My Dying Bride, you can't wallow away comfortably in misery. No! You're supposed to be fully conscious and accept the sorrow with your eyes wide open. Paul Kuhr experiments a lot with his vocals, and this helps to keep the total picture more interesting. Unfortunately, Cathy Ho's role is once more a small one, remaining on the background providing atmosphere by once more mainly "oooohh'ing" and "aaaahaaa'ing" her way through this album. This does prevent Novembers Doom from falling into the Gothic-metal trap. I doubt anybody who heard half a ND song would dare to compare them to one of the so called "Beauty and the Beast" bands out there. Despite the harder "American" edge to the music, Novembers Doom does have that romantic feel to them; they aren't afraid to include more mellow sections into their songs, making sure that all the songs remain interesting. Something which other bands seem to struggle with, often resulting to novelty instruments to keep the music interesting. Novembers Doom doesn't need and does not, revert to such trickery. The song 'Forever With Unopened Eye' showcases Novembers Doom need to experiment. This song has much more of a groove to it and -dare I say it?- a bit of a stoner feeling to it. Of course all done the Novembers Doom way, but it's not something I had expected from these US doomsters when I first heard this album. They however pull it off really well and the song is thoroughly enjoyable, and lord behold even fits with the rest of the album! To conclude, Novembers Doom are one of the better active bands around, while not overly original all the time, they manage to give their own twist to well known musical ideas. This is a must for any fan of My Dying Bride and Co.	1. With Rue and Fire 2. The Jealous Sun 3. Suffer the Red Dream 4. All the Beauty Twice again 5. Reaping Forest Calm 6. Before the Wind 7. For Every Leaf that Falls 8. Serenity Forgotten 9. Forever With Unopened Eye 10. Dawn Breaks Approx. 50 minutes
Reviewed by: Aldo Quispel
The Knowing (CD) 2000 Dark Symphonies
As the first of a two-cd deal with Dark Symphonies, November's Doom produced 'The Knowing', described by the label as "a dark conceptual piece from start to finish, drawing diverse influences from such acts as Opeth, early Moonspell and Katatonia." There are also obvious influences from MDB material (particularly that of 'Like Gods of the Sun'). The album in question gives off a generally dreamy, atmospheric ethos created by a complex, yet identifiable interaction between several factors. These include the effective yet tactful and apt tempo changes, as well as November Doom's characteristic use of both male and female vocals, which are superimposed upon a background of lengthy instrumental passages, in themselves balanced out by acoustic guitar and piano interspersals, as well as surreal sound effects. It is worth noting that this cd does utilise clean vocals to a greater extent than previous work. As far as lyrical content is concerned, it is very much in keeping with the style for which November's Doom is noted, with hard-hitting lyrics such as "Forever, my sanity has been stripped away", and tracks emotively entitled, for example, 'Searching The Betrayal', 'Last God' and 'In Memories Past'. The conceptual nature of the cd as a whole revolves around "despair and grievous matters of the heart" (as per Mark Gromen, Metal Maniacs), which are brought to the fore by the tacit combination of lyrics and music.	1. Awaken 2. Harmony divine 3. Shadows of light 4. Intervene 5. Silent tomorrow 6. In faith 7. Searching the betrayal 8. Last god 9. In memories past 10. The day I return 11. Aura blue 12. Silent tomorrow (Edit-version) Approx. 64 minutes
Reviewed by: Keti Tano
To Welcome The Fade (CD) 2002 Dark Symphonies
Years have passed since this band's classic 'Amid Its Hallowed Mirth' debut floored doom metal fans back in the early 1990s. Since then the band has been on-and-off in terms of its existence, but this new epic release should put them squarely back in the focus of many fans. Produced by Neil Kernon (who has worked with the likes of Nevermore and Cannibal Corpse), 'To Welcome The Fade' features extremely polished and powerful production, as good and and as professional as anything million-dollar recording mainstream artists could afford. It's obvious that both Novembers Doom and their label Dark Symphonies believed in this new material and were willing to hire a (presumably) more expensive producer, but from a sound quality point of view the end result was definitely worth it: everything from the drums to the guitars to vocals sounds simply pristine. Musically, this is a very diverse album that definitely has a doomy feeling to it, but the mid-tempo nature of many songs probably means that Novembers Doom can't be really described as a traditional doom/death metal band anymore, as they have clearly gone beyond that simple label. The album starts off with "Not the Strong", "Broken" and "Lost in a Day", three fairly dynamic pieces highlighted by some excellent hooks with a slight atonal touch to them...reminded me somewhat of Germany's avant/doom/death metallers Disbelief, but performed in a more convincing fashion. Besides the thick guitar riffs, the band tastefully blends in subtle gothic keyboards and acoustic guitar passages, which serve as a perfect counter-weight to the heavier sections and the brutal death vocals. Next track "With The Flesh" is more reminiscent of November Doom's earlier recordings, preferring a slow, steady rhythm that shows these guys still definitely feel the doom. After this heavy first half, 'To Welcome the Fade' switches to a more melancholic mood with the acoustic "If Forever", a beautiful folky/gothic ballad highlighted by passionately romantic clean singing. The album returns to a darker mood in the second half, still skillfully oscillating between heaviness, doomy acoustic melancholy and gothic beauty. An extremely impressive comeback CD from a band that is long overdue for some massive exposure. Highly recommended.	1. Not the Strong 2. Broken 3. Lost in a Day 4. Within My Flesh 5. If Forever 6. The Spirit Seed 7. Torn 8. The Lifeless Silhouette 9. Dreams to Follow 10. Dark Fields For Brilliance Approx. 55 minutes
Reviewed by: Jacek Furmankiewicz