The Order Of Israfel – Wisdom

1.
2. On Black Wings, A Demon
3. The Noctuus
4. The Earth Will Deliver What Heaven Desires
5. Born For War
6. Promises Made To The Earth
7. The Vow
8. Morning Sun (Satanas)
“In the shady zone between doom/traditional heavy metal and stoner rock, bands rise of mushroom growth, but instantly leaps to the eye. For a change I decided to listen to the album without checking the information first. This resulted in remarkable conclusions. I thought I was dealing with an American band, but they hail from Gothenburg, Sweden. At first listen one can say that they are heavily influenced by Sabbath with Ozzy, but the band already shows a multifarious and matured sound on their debut “”. It really makes you addicted to these magnificent songs. After many spins, the material still reveals new elements with every listen, even though one can speak of compelling catchiness as well.”
“Thus the roots of (by the way, an intriguing name) go back to traditional doom metal, but we rather say that they play classic heavy metal, but in a slower pace. Now and then few folk elements pop up in their acoustic guitars and storytelling vocal lines, but each of their compositions is crafted in a wonderful manner, with charming and easygoing twists and turns in atmosphere and textures. These are no beginners; that is obvious. Vocalist/guitarist Tom Sutton gathered some fame in Church Of Misery and bassist Patrik Andersson Winberg comes from the Doomdogs. They are joined by Hans Lilja on drums and Staffan Bj’rck (guitars).”
“Our musical trip kicks off with the title track “”: nine and a half minutes long beauty that starts with sonorous sounds like a harp. Plucking acoustic guitars pass into firm doom riffs. The epic, clean vocals are empyrean and remind us a bit of the Krautrock era. Actually that drawling vocal style also reminds us of the vocals in the grunge era. All this is relished with fervent guitar solos, resulting in a steamy, irresistible cocktail. The shorter tracks around four minutes are the fastest ones. “On Black Wings, A Demon” is such an up-tempo stunner with on purpose monotonous chants in Ozzy style. Later we have the sturdy sung “Born For War” which is dynamic and fast. But the band is most brilliant in the slow moving compositions like “The Noctuus”. The strong articulated vocals sketch an eerie image from an animal akin to rat and bat which dwells into the nocturnal darkness. The creepy vocals are emphasized by echoing riffs of Iommi signature, but the song develops into several layers like a Trojan horse. The so called folk element manifests itself in the captivating “The Earth Will Deliver What Heaven Desires”. Here the harmony between acoustic guitars and percussion happens to be phenomenal, while the sharp chants make our flesh creep. The ethnic atmosphere is broken after three minutes by ponderous riffs, but at the end comes an acoustic reprise that is really marvellous. “The Order” is a short statement that would fit for opening their gigs (soon on tour with Lonely Kamel) in a stalwart way. Another stunner is the fifteen minutes long, trance-inducing sung “Promises Made To The Earth” that make them low-tuned guitars snore until you feel it in your belly and it fires a soloing universe at us that uplifts us into heaven. What a mighty solos here, while the title sounds unapproachable. For a moment we thought that the guys were religious, but that idea is abruptly destroyed when listening to the plea in “The Vow”. This oath to Satan even gives an uneasy feeling. Yet nearly sounds lightly in the occluding track “Morning Sun (Satanas)”, in which we can enjoy delicious rifforamas and firm vocals with fiery solos with ever changing rhythmic patterns for almost ten minutes long. This is really a debut album that blows you away, regaled with a top notch production!”
Lords Of Metal, Vera
2LP album (Green)
Back