Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 29/08/2014
Label: Napalm
Records / Spinning Goblin
“Wisdom”
CD/DD/LP track listing:
1). Wisdom 09:32
2). The
Noctuus 04:14
3). One Black
Wings, A Demon 09:05
4). The Earth
Will Deliver What Heaven Desires 08:25
5). The Order 01:25
6). Born For War 04:05
7). Promises
Made to the Earth 15:41
8). The Vow 03:09
9). Morning
Sun (Satanas) 09:16
Bio:
It’s
guaranteed that Ozzy Osbourne could have fun with Wisdom, Zakk Wylde would carefully listen and members of the
currently paused cult band Cathedral could creep up with the feeling of having
their legitimate successors found. THE ORDEROF ISRAFEL combine early
seventies Doom with progressive cross-references and interspersed cleverly with
Folk elements. Who are the makers of this leaden sound? It is primarily
guitarist Tom Sutton, a former member of Church Of Misery
The
Band:
Tom Sutton
Patrik
Andersson Winberg
Hans Lilja
Staffan Björck
Review:
The
album begins with a nice folksy acoustic passage then the heavy hits like an
acme anvil on a coyote. Never letting up throughout its length with some sweet guitar
work and a great vocal performance “Wisdom” is a must-buy.
The
lyrics on the second track “Noctuus” are campy retro doom/horror at it's finest,
with the singer sounding like a drunken madman raving about vampires bellowing
‘he had the eyes of a rat! And the wings of a bat! The blues shred fest solo
after that verse into the thrashy early 80s underground metal riff is absolute
gold. This is probably my favorite track on the album and as the song
progressed it kept surprising me with how slick The Order of Israfel's song
writing is.
“The
Earth will Deliver what Heaven Desires” is a nice surprise in the middle of the
album channeling the vibe of your favorite Ennio Morricone soundtrack blended
with a folk chorus. This is another song that surprises you, a really cool
bridge/middle section with a crushing chugging guitar riff after the moody
beginning of the song. I can't stress
enough how good the songwriting is on “Wisdom.” Closing the bridge section with
a tasteful extended bluesy solo leading back into the acoustic sections from
the beginning.
The
production on “Wisdom” is pretty badass everything is nicely balanced and
clearly audible with a balanced drumkit and some sweet guitar tones. It's also
a nice surprise, as a bass player myself, to hear such a powerful and audible
bass tone throughout the album. Particularly the fuzzy bass wah on the intro to
“Promises Made to the Earth” (please post your signal chain so I can copy it).
A fucking great track! The only promise The Order of Israfel makes on this song,
is that you will be doomed beneath the weight of their riffs. A totally
different kind of band but “Wisdom's” song writing reminds me a lot of
Baroness' seminal ‘Red Album’, in that it channels the best parts of the 70s
and doesn't feel forced, everything is both familiar and unexpected and on
first listen you will be constantly engaged by the changes.
A
powerful and moving effort, this is a strong contender for album of the year
for me. I would honestly say this and Triptykon's amazing “Melana Chasmata” are
the most interesting albums I've heard so far in a year filled with plenty of
disappointing albums that you stop listening to after the first week or two. Do
not lump The Order of Israfel into the whole stack of retro-satanic-doom bands
everyone is being inundated with recently.
This is an absolute must buy.
Words By: Chris Tedor
You
can pick up a copy here
For
more information:
