RSS Feed


UNDERJORD
Sheol

Massacre (2014)
Rating: 6/10

Underjord is a Finnish, experimental doom metal band consisting of five members; vocalist Thomp Finholm, guitarist Niklas Norrgrann, bassist Jonas Frilund, drummer Markus Rosenberg and keyboardist Joakim Finholm.

Sheol is the debut effort from these guys, and it’s one which should prick a few ears. The band offers up nine songs of what I would call oaken doom metal daubed in Nordic drama.

From the off, the sound is bolstered by Thomp Finholm’s grizzly vocal scowl; one which – for me, anyway – casts images of some great bearded Viking pounding his chest over the trudge of Norrgrann’s slow-burning guitar tone. It’s certainly not depressing doom, but the sort which brings forth imaginings of medieval celebration, vast glistening fjords and ancient tapestries featuring all manner of beasts.

‘Book Of The Dead’ is one such gargantuan episode which sticks to the thread of slowish, brooding guitar and stony drum plod. As Thomp Finholm demands, “Prepare the feast in the golden hall”, one cannot help but picture something akin to Game Of Thrones as the track trudges along. In a sense, it’s rather unremarkable as a song, but things certainly improve with ‘Erebus’ which begins as an acoustic strum and gothic orchestration. In my mind’s eye, I can see a great fleet of ships gliding across a mist-caressed sea. Thomp Finholm’s vocal is more of a gravelled whisper this time until the track finally shifts into another ponderous chug. This is reasonably atmospheric metal that I’d much prefer to call dark metal rather than doom metal.

‘Hunt Of The Death God’ relies more on enchanting ambience littered with a metallic remoteness only given extra beef by that throaty rasp.

During the mid-section of the album we come to a trilogy of tracks entitled ‘To Death I’, To Death II’ and, yep, you guessed it, ‘To Death III’. The first of these begins as a ghostly chime of eerie chants and tolling bell and becomes little more than a soundtrack, whereas ‘To Death II’ injects the metal big-time; the keyboard effects add a wondrous chill, but Underjord still follow similar paths to earlier tracks where the lumbering guitar and drum play second fiddle to that booming vocal presence. Riff-wise it’s heavy and catchy but lacking thrills, except with those ambient insertions. ‘To Death III’ also begins in atmospheric nature with a sparse violin wheeze; it’s haunting as it contorts and soars through the icy breeze and is then joined by an almost Eastern tub-thump, but that’s about it until we ooze into the title track.

‘Sheol’ follows a similar path, initially; a strange electronic buzz and tribal stomp finally gives way to that ogre-like bark of Thomp Finholm and an orc-like march of drum, bass and guitar. Although a tad monotonous, it’s still a booming track combining the sullen nuances of doom with the majestic flow of traditional metal and death metal sprigs. Again, Underjord could be blamed for a lack of variety except within those ambient passages that actually make for a nice respite from the laborious trudge, which tends to drag some of the tracks into the realms of boredom.

Strangely, it takes the band up until track eight before they add some subtlety and variety in the form of ‘Dance Of Death’, where Thomp Finholm’s vocals are a touch more tuneful and the music a tad more upbeat. Again though, the band still resorts to a rather strenuous trudge, but at least the guitar this time offers something a little more exciting as it twists and turns in an almost psychedelic manner to rescue us from what is now a rather predictable plod.

And with ‘Epilogue’ the band bids us farewell before disappearing over the crest of a green pasture, no doubt off to embark on another adventure. While Underjord have attempted to inject a little fantasy and ambience into the doom metal genre, these colours rarely make an impact. For every hint of promise, Sheol is just too much of a familiar traipse at times for me to join them on their quest.

Neil Arnold

<< Back to Album & EP Reviews



Related Posts via Categories
Share