DOOMSDAY CEREMONY - Black Heart
June 1, 2016, 7 years ago
(Greyhaze)
Man, hard to shake the feeling of politeness all over this Brazilian band's second album; you see a band is from Brazil and is on Greyhaze and you think there's a good chance some chaos is going to erupt, but there's no chaos here; rather, there are keyboards, there's a very polished production, there's a tame blackened death that doesn't have much in the way of bite, or bark. I like tunes like the title track though, where there's a bit of unbridled '80s speed metal soul, and I can't help but wonder if the ten-year gap between this album and their debut gave the band a bit too much time to overthink things, as much of the album races past in a state of melodic black/death that has been done too many times.
I say lose the manners and embrace the raw thrash and speed that is simmering under the surface here; definitely get rid of the keyboards, as they just reek of slick, polished, third-wave black metal and most certainly have no impact at all. And speaking of no impact, that punchy production is forever hair-pulling, the listener just struggling to connect but at the end of the album feeling nothing whatsoever, mainly thanks to the recording, which is done well enough but lacks any sort of personality. Let me be clear about one thing: Doomsday Ceremony have heart, but it's, frustratingly, buried beneath a few other things they're trying here, and the end result just ain't sticking.
