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RELENTLESS
Souls Of Charon

Do Or Die (2013)
Rating: 8/10

Female-fronted doom metal bands may be few and far between but I welcome this Chicago combo with open arms. I know little about this quintet except that they formed in 2012, but there seems to be little in the way of a back catalogue and now their debut six-track opus has just fallen into my lap like a paving slab sent from the God’s above.

Although the band moniker might be a tad bland, thankfully the music isn’t, although don’t expect a speed metal fest or glam rock stomp as the six-minute ‘Trapped Underground’ rises from the earth, caked in mud with a mind of its own and intentions of trampling us to death.

Of course, what really works here is the vocals of Carlee Jackson who puts a nice spin on the doom metal plod. The guitars of Tim Pearson (leads) and Justin Clark (rhythm) could be considered as the bog standard trudging slog, but the ashen effects of this record are such in contrast to the almost ethereal, soaring tones of Jackson. Too many doom bands rely on either aping Ozzy Osbourne or spending too long choking on weeds, but Jackson enables the music to drift like a deadly haze across the swollen river without once dragging the listener into some intolerable depths.

What is rather cool about Relentless is that they’ve also decided not to opt for the rather trendy occult rock approach, replacing any hint of folk-influenced oddness with sturdy compositions, resulting in an old school feel that isn’t frightened of sounding ominous but also easy on the ears.

The drums of Dan Klein are effective but nothing flashy and the bass of John Usher ever-present in their quest for weighty woe. But then we’re rewarded for our patience with the retro rock ’n’ roll groove of ‘Better Off Dead’, the sort of track that should never be called doom such is its almost punky-pop groove; think Jefferson Airplane meets a sprig of grunge with a basement full of punk sweat. A nice touch giving the album an immediate variation.

Sadly though, only six tracks on offer means the album only runs for around 35 minutes. Such a shame when one hears the magnetic rifferama of ‘United By Darkness’, which effortlessly shifts pace from a doom-laced groove to an upbeat traditional rock trundle as Jackson hauntingly asks us to “Look in the eyes of Reaper” in Janis Joplin-inspired tones blessed with Danzig-styled gothic aplomb, before leading us down the garden path to ‘Final Wishes’, which is probably the weightiest leviathan on the opus.

However, the album is rounded off nicely with two stirring affairs, the first being the lumbering ‘Forever Damned’ with its crushing, cumbersome guitar and the immense title track – both numbers being the closest to anything of a dirge-like nature. But this record has so many things going for it that it’s difficult to not be charmed by it, especially those almost modest vocals which exist to entice us naïve chaps into Satan’s lair.

Neil Arnold

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