PILGRIM – “MISERY WIZARD”
METAL BLADE (2012)
It been a good forty two years since Birmingham Heavy Metal legends Black Sabbath released their eponymous debut album and bands all around the world seem to still be heavily influenced by the sound of Tony Iommi’s 1965 Gibson SG Special, trying, somewhat hopelessly, to discover that one riff that the great axeman might have failed to give birth to along the way.
The latest of such bands is a trio that was conceived in Rhode Island two years ago and acquired the quite fitting moniker Pilgrim. Slowly but steadily the Doom laden Americans became to learn their craft and created enough noise to attract the attention of Metal Blade records with which they are set to release their debut album “Misery Wizard”.
The members of Pilgrim like their Doom Metal slow and punishing, indulging mainly in heavily-distorted repetitive riffs whose purpose is to put the listener into a sort of trance through their 10-minute (or more) track length on the album’s six compositions.
Having said that, there are moments where all this Sabbath worshipping manifests itself through rhythmical groovy-sounding interludes which, at times, seem to have a few moments in common with the works of fellow-countrymen Solitude Aeturnus – certainly s good thing for all fans of Epic-sounding Doom Metal.
The main reason why this album failed to score a really high rating is due to the vocal performances of “The Wizard” – performances which are good and honest but which somehow lack that passion and timbre that would elevate these heavy drone riffs and would enhance their character. To summarize, “Misery Wizard” is an honest Doom Metal debut album which portrays Pilgrim as a band which a real but yet-to-be- fulfilled potential.
The opening track of the album “Astaroth” is a good example of how the band’s simple repetitive riffs can inflict serious ‘damage’. Vocals-wise there is a tendency towards the use of dramatic melodic lines in the vein of Pentagram but unfortunately they are neither strong nor mature enough to achieve such a difficult goal.
“Misery Wizard” may be five minutes longer than its predecessor but it’s quite similar in nature, whereas “Quest” is the first song that really grabbed my attention due to some great Iommi-inspired groovy mid-tempo riffs that are difficult to resist. In “Masters Of The Sky” the band seems to be taking one step back, but all the momentum that was lost is regained through another groovy piece entitled “Adventurer” – a song whose melodic solo is amongst the highlights of the album.
The role of the closing composition of the album is assigned to the twelve and a half minute “Forsaken Man” – quite an interesting decision as it features the most unusual rhythmical structure of all. Having said that, this doom laden monster may succeed in impressing by its atmospheric-sounding narrative-style backing vocals that add an epic dimension to it.
I have pretty much described what I feel about this album quite early in my review when I clearly mentioned that there is both passion and substance behind its creation. What is also needed, however, is a lot of hard work, especially in the vocal department, before these heavily-distorted and simply-crafted guitar riffs transform themselves into irresistible musical propositions.
This type of Doom Metal is what one would describe as an ‘acquired taste’, so do not approach this album if slow heavy riffs and mournful guitar melodies are not your thing. This is a pretty decent starter – I do hope, however, that the next course from this band is somewhat more appetising.
John Stefanis
Rating: ***1/2 (3.5/5.0)
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