GRIEF COLLECTOR "En Delirium" [12" LP, Black Vinyl]
2021 - Doom from United States
Detailed Description
Grief Collector, on paper, sound like one of those cool ideas that you really hope will work. A couple of fairly experienced fellows, Matt Johnson (Signs Of Reign) and Brad Miller (Among The Serpents), get together to play some classic doom metal, realize they need a singer with some serious pipes, and Robert Lowe just happens to agree to help out. While the half hour debut effort was structured around the various stages of grief (see bandname), En Delirium certainly seems like a more complete affair with 48 minutes of tunes ranging from mid-paced riff-heavy ragers to real sluggish atmospheric affairs. The album's sonic features delight, thick guitars and bass mowing through the air while flatter, cutting drums and Lowe's voice combine to give a picture quite similar to Solitude Aeturnus's classic Through the Darkest Hour, a record I happen to adore that brings both emotion and heaviness to the big doom template. Without aiming for too much expansion in scope, the trio start proceedings just right. 'Corridors' comes on like SA's 'Falling', massive grooves propelling massive vocals during extremely powerful verses and a memorable refrain, taking in a malicious section of laughter and a sweet soaring solo before finishing in around 4 minutes. In a rather different manner but with equally giddy effect, 'Our Poisonous Ways' begins with a bounding riff that twirls energetically, while breaking to a slow section simply sees the song mow on an inevitable path to swooning lead guitar and an eventual reunion with that first great riff. Steadier pace on 'Wintersick' and 'The Letting Go' allow the strength of Lowe's range to shine in tense settings, even if the outro chug of the former goes on strangely long for no particular reason. These are all fairly brief cuts for epic doom, but very satisfying.
