Published: July 29, 2013

In such a peaceful and a calm night, a Doom / Death Metal music is the only thing that can make the air seem fresher, and the NETHERMOST was my choice for tonight, NETHERMOST is a Doom / Death Metal band that hails from Texas, and creates extreme doomy riffs in the veins of the old KATATONIA and OCTOBER TIDE, with a lot of 90s Doom Metal riffs that have the ability to suck the air around you and replace it with ultra melancholic atmosphere. The band has recently released the debut EP album “Alpha”, so if you think you can handle such a mood then you have to get this CD and start sinking in it.

“Alpha” contains of only four tracks that run for about 19 minutes, but every minute in this record will be like a time machine for your ears, because every single track will remind you of the vintage sound of the Doom / Death Metal era. The band tried in these four tracks to be as melodic as possible, and it was really successful because the melodies that I've heard in this record have set the mood perfectly. The production though wasn't really professional, but at least every instrument is audible, the compositions and the fabric of the music follow the musical structure of the album “Brave Murder Day” of KATATONIA, with some touches from bands like OCTOBER TIDE, AMORPHIS and NOVEMBER’S DOOM. The mixture of growl vocals and the golden guitar riffs are the main musical theme for “Alpha”, with mid-tempo and catchy melodies behind the monstrous vocals, the sound of this EP is very promising and I think that the next releases will be even better.

The EP album starts with the track "Phasing Currents", the influences of this track are really obvious and I mentioned above some of these influential bands, tough the band have managed to create such an atmosphere successfully, but the missing originality was my first problem of this record. Here comes the next track "The Untroubled Kingdom of Reason" which is following the musical fabric of “Brave Murder Day”, but now some original touches appear in the track, I really liked this track and I think it’s a good example of how death\\doom metal music must sound like. The next track "Tower of the Winds" made me felt like it’s a continuance of the previous track, and both tracks must be merged together because they are raging in the same musical patterns, with the same guitar techniques drumbeats. The final track "Dance of Burning Beasts" follows the exactly same patterns of the previous tracks, but some variations made this track more interesting than the previous one. I really enjoyed listening to this EP album and I wish the members will work harder for their full-length album, and the only thing that I can complain about is the needed originality, the materials are interesting but more efforts would have made this EP sounds more perfect for the worshippers of the 90s Doom / Death Metal music.

Overall, this EP album will be a delicious piece of cake for the fans of the melodic Doom / Death Metal music, and for those who adore the doomy riffing sound of the 90s, there are a lot of moments that may blow your years away, so get this EP now and enjoy the doomed melancholy of the golden era.