By: Richard Maw
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 22/01/2015
Label: Ván Records
For a band that have been around for nigh on a quarter of a century, Mourning Beloveth incorporate a surprising amount of experimentation. That said, they have their sound and are sticking to it. They incorporate death, doom, even elements of black metal and so on into their sound and deploy them all for variety across their albums. Although we may have heard the tricks before, the quality remains high and the band remain inspired with great depth and breadth to their compositions.
“Rust & Bone” CD//DD track listing:
1). Godether
2). Rust
3). The Mantle Tomb
4). Bone
5). A Terrible Beauty is Born
Mourning Beloveth is:
Tommy Johnson | Drums
Frank Brennan | Guitars, vocals (clean)
Darren Moore | Vocals
Brendan Roche | Bass
Pauric Gallagher | Guitars
The Review:
Mourning Beloveth, the Irish doom metal force of nature, follow up “Formless” with this beast of an album. Certainly, these are five tracks of misery and downcast despair. “Godether” gets down to murky business over the course of its sixteen and a half minutes (!). Don't expect an easy listen, choruses or any kind of songs, per se. These are more like mood pieces/movements. Whether the French film of the same name as this album from a couple of years ago had any influence on this record, I cannot say- but the mood is in some ways similar (no happy endings here, though).
Certainly, there is death metal within Mourning Beloveth's doom, but this is not like Asphyx or something- it is primarily doom metal, with melody and mood intact. Sweeping backing vocals lift the track down the penultimate stretch and the opener is well crafted and pitch black. The blast section towards the end will come as a shock, too!
“Rust” is a pretty acoustic interlude, with a folk sensibility which sets up the following “The Mantle Tomb” nicely. The track sprints- well not really- out of the gates with a flowing riff and an expansive sound. The clean vocals are a nice addition; dramatic and operatic and thus matching the mood of the music. For a band that have been around for nigh on a quarter of a century, Mourning Beloveth incorporate a surprising amount of experimentation. That said, they have their sound and are sticking to it. They incorporate death, doom, even elements of black metal and so on into their sound and deploy them all for variety across their albums. Although we may have heard the tricks before, the quality remains high and the band remain inspired with great depth and breadth to their compositions.
“Bone” is the second part of the title and this time utilises electric sounds to create a rather wistful atmosphere for a charming bridge into the final part of the album. The closing seven minutes of “A Terrible Beauty Is Born” uses acoustic instruments with an excellent and insistent rhythm, over which vocals are layered to good effect. It is an unusual and interesting way to end a doom album. Overall, then, another quality release from Ireland
“Rust and Bone” is available here
FFO: My Dying Bride, Officium Triste, Novembers Doom, Hooded Menace
