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VENI DOMINE
Light

Massacre (2014)
Rating: 7.5/10

This Swedish outfit has been churning out melodic doom metal in some form since the late 80s, the band consisting of brothers Thomas and Torbjörn Weinesjö. Light is the seventh studio release, and comes after a seven-year gap from last opus Tongues.

Now, those of you who like your metal heavy yet with crystal clear production and a symphonic edge will enjoy this nine-track composition. The album is certainly worth the weight in that not only does it run for over an hour, but exhibits some of the band’s best material since the days of Material Sanctuary (1994). Vocalist Fredrik Sjöholm offers a clear, almost classic style of vocal which is as comfortable as a simmering croon as it is as a more powerful, soaring tone.

The album opens with the slow-moving strains of ‘In Memoriam’, a 12-minute belter that can best be described as progressive doom metal in the sense that it is epic in stature, but yet more haunting than morose. As it evolves from a quiet crawl to a gothic boom, the guitars ache but not in a gloomy tirade; instead, the track unravels as a behemoth of glinting light and colourful shades cavorting in the darkness. The tinkling piano is effective as an almost soothing atmosphere is created, bolstered by the injection of a poetic violin and by the time there is any whisper of a guitar, it’s a case of traditional metal rather than anything remotely crushing.

‘Farewell’ has a tendency to brood more than the previous track, but there are still those lighter shades evident. The track adopts an almost uplifting plod made all the more melancholic by the vocals; imagine classic Candlemass, but with progressive edges and a lighter underside. ‘Hope’ is equally monolithic, yet again without harm as the combo spreads their words of Christianity over a cauldron of effective jangles, kaleidoscopic tingles, and a stark heartbeat of simple drum and jingling guitar.

There’s certainly something sweeping about the melodic drama Veni Domine creates, but there are times when these drawn out exercises are just a tad too long. However, doom metal –in whichever form – can often be accused of being lengthy, but with hope there is a propensity to exist as something akin to a strange mix of Pink Floyd and Candlemass. This is a compliment as well as a criticism, because when one wades into the clear, cool waters of ‘Hope’, there is that sense of frustration in that the track – for all of its musical content – is just not lively enough, and this could be applied to any of the numbers on offer.

For instance, the slow burning, surreal landscape of ‘Where The Story Ends’ is a perfect example of classic, well-orchestrated doom metal and remains one of the album’s heaviest moments, but it would have benefited from being a touch shorter. Even so, some of the expression within the leads is scintillating and the goth-laden melody is one to be applauded, but for me this is doom metal delivered with subtlety rather than sombre mood.

The best of the tracks on offer are ‘Last Silence Before Eternity’ with its technological rush of peculiar structures and progressive complexities, and there’s no denying the murky, Candlemass-styled splendour of ‘The Hour Of Darkness’, but while this is thinking man’s melancholic metal, it is a record that instils belief rather than woe – for this, I applaud the band.

If you’re expecting something crushing, bewitching and black then look elsewhere, but for those of you who like to bury their heads in reflective metal of many shades, Light could well be the right path for you.

Neil Arnold

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