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Rise Above – Out Now.
London has long been the breeding ground of all-things Metal in the UK, but it is specifically its Doom Metal community which seems to have been more active in terms of output these last few years. One of the latest bands to emerge is the Heavy Doom quartet Age Of Taurus – an outfit that began life as a one-man Doom Metal proposition back in 2009 and which is now about to release its debut studio album “Desperate Souls Of Tortured Times” through Lee Dorian’s specialised label Rise Above Records.
Based on the press release info sheet which accompanies the promo of the album, Toby Right (vocals/guitar), the founding member of the band, is quite open about the influences for this album which include, amongst others, giants of the genre Black Sabbath, Pentagram, Trouble and Candlemass.
Mixing the groove and Doom aesthetics of such great bands with the power and urgency of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal scene means that the seven compositions on offer contain enough character and variety to be attractive to most fans of classic Metal. There is, however, one small thing that some of you (and I include myself), may take issue with – and that is Toby Right’s somewhat limited vocal range.
In Sabbath/Pentagram influenced material such as the opener “A Rush Of Power” or the riff laden “Always In The Eye”, Right’s Ozzy-like performances are both fitting and pleasant. The problems begin, however, the moment the material becomes more epic/atmospheric in nature, such as the six minute opus “Walk with Me My Queen”.
This massive composition, whose riff shares many similarities with Candlemass in their all-time classic opus “Samaritan”, could really do with more soulful vocal support. The same applies to both the Mercyful Fate-inspired “Desperate Souls of Tortured Times” and the epic-sounding “Embrace the Stone”, the latter featuring a beautiful guitar melody reminiscent of early Trouble (these two tracks being by far the best compositions of the album).
So, now that the pros and cons have been laid out, how much do I really appreciate “Desperate Souls of Tortured Times”? Well, a vinyl copy of the album is already on its way to me, which certainly says something.
Despite this, though, I truly believe that with vocal performances of a more varied and perhaps emotionally powerful nature we would now be talking about one of the most impressive Epic Doom Metal debut albums in recent times! Let’s see what the future holds for these guys…
John Stefanis
Rating: ***1/2 (3.5/5.0)
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