Doom metal is as old as heavy metal itself, as Black Sabbath created both the genre and subgenre concurrently with the release of their debut album. Not only is doom the first subgenre of metal, but the one which has survived the longest undiminished.The later invention of power metal added a bombastic flare to metal which spawned great bands such as Iron Maiden, Dio, Halloween and Hammerfall. So when Northern Crown releases an album of Epic Doom Metal, which is essentially shorthand for the merging of these two genres, the expectations are lofty.
The first two tracks off this album The Others deliver in fine fashion. "With Malicious Eye" and "Surreality (The Tell-Tale Mind)" are compositions of crushing riffs and powerful, haunting vocals. The sound and the tempo reminded me of Candlemass with a hint of Iced Earth.
