Customer Reviews

Into Night's Requiem Infernal

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

These guys have been around for a long time and while I'm not familiar with their earlier work, their newer stuff is breathtaking to say the least. I'm a huge fan of all things doom and the more epic, the better, and November's Doom always delivers on this qualification. ND isn't as doomy as Candlemass perhaps; I wouldn't even consider them to be doom metal- their sound is certainly melancholy but is a bit too upbeat and thrashy to be strictly doom. But this is a plus rather than a minus- it expands their appeal and sonic diversity and keeps things from getting predictable.

Into Night's Requiem Infernal is a perfect blend of gothic melancholy, earthquake riffs, and majestic atmospherics. It's epic but not symphonic, it's gloomy without being dreary, and each song thunders and quakes with battle-metal fury (with the exception of The Fifth Day of March, a delicate ballad). I'm not as impressed with the clean vocals as I am with the gutteral vocals, but that's what injects the gothic rather than the doom sound into the mix. The riffs aren't the Sabbath-inspired lead weight chords that grind your head into the dust; in fact, most of the songs gallop and thrash at a pretty good clip until the chorus, which is usually where the doom hammer swings down. This isn't molten lava metal of the apocalypse; it's Armageddon cataclysmic metal that will ravage your ears and pummel you with just enough bleak despair to remind you that this isn't supposed to be fun.

I love everything this band put out. This is no let down at all. I have no idea why it's getting some negative reviews. It must be the mainstream fans trying to go heavy. This is brillant music. Possers Beware!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well written song craft takes center stage. Probably the fewest guitar leads of any album I have bought this year, what is there is very tastefully done & if you are already a fan of the band, you know exactly what i mean.
The riffs are heavy, they bulldoze their way thru each song & make their point even though this is not as heavy as Novella Reservoir. Because of that I think this is a "different" listen & at times a better listen, just depends on mood. They seemed to add back in some of the slower moments from prior albums(like To Welcome The Fade). From the very first listen this album was ear candy- melodic, deathy/doomy, & thought provoking. This will probably rank high in my favorites of theirs.

ND are really a good band that have developed their own style. Too heavy to be considered strictly doom, too melancholy to be pegged to Death Metal lyrically and also too Melodic at times to be considered a one style defining act. 20 years along, they should be proud of their accomplishments and admired for sticking to their chosen musical path.
This disc is very very good. Their are surprises only in Vocal stylings to the more slow tempo-ed tracks. The clean vocals need to be a bit refined as they dont do much but deliver the lyrics, whereas the heavy songs are complimented by the vocal style. The slower tracks (Fifth Day of March, When Desperation Fills the Void) arent that great and really arent that 'doom' inflicted as prior albums more melodic tracks were. I must be honest, they dont do much for me and maybe a little female interaction would have helped in the Vocal Territory.

Thats the average, but there is absolutely PLENTY good, The first 3 tracks are GREAT! The title track is bombastic and heavy. The vocals are clearer and a bit more evil. The production is more Metal and the delivery is great. Really kicks the disc off and crushes! I love the song and is one of my favorites in the bands entire catalog.

'Eulogy...' and 'Empathy's Greed' follow and are straight 'Doom' inflicted Metal songs with nice melody lines. Excellent tracks. 'Empathy's Greed' is a really great mid-paced track with good drumming and Vocal tones.

'Lazarus Regret' and 'The Harlots Lie' are more straight forward pure metal songs. Catchy, trotting riffs and drumming make for Good songs that will probably be great live. 'Harlots Lie' has a nice melody line in it as well, reminiscent of older ND tracks.

'I Hurt those I Adore' is mid paced, old school ND with personal lyrics and a decent harmonizing. Not great, but far from bad.

They are a little further away from the Ambient-Doom stylings of old.. But I do like this In Your Face Metal approach to most of this disc. The production is excellent. If you like the Heavier side of their stuff and dont mind the songs being a bit shorter and less experimental, you will like 80% of this Disc. Very good.

This cd is really heavy and the production values are top notch. It's obvious these guys are in top form. I gave it four stars because it's really in my opinion not quite at the level of their last two masterpieces "The Pale Haunt Departure" and "Novella Reservoir", but still better than most metal,out there. Fans should go ahead and pick this one up. Newcomers start with PHD or NR.

As a fan of this band for 6 years. I must say there isn't a hint of Doom in this new recording. It went from bad with Novella Reservoir to worst with this Melodic Death Metal tripe. The new direction is stale and redundant, to say the least. Long gone are the days of truly epic Doom riffage coupled with Paul Kuhr's dynamic range and fury. His lyrics were poetic and very personal. Now they are just dull and uninspiring, Song along through on a simple formatted, one two thrash like riff monotony. The soft spoken parts don't feel emotional and soul grabbing as in Pale Haunt Departure. It all just feels bland and hurriedly approached. Fans of previous recordings will know what I mean by this assessment. Novembers Doom used to hold a beauty and personal touch that would entice and captivate. Their brand of Doom was very real and heartfelt. This man brought us into his world and forced his troubles and pain onto us. Truly amazing Death/Doom Metal tracks that were inventive and fresh. The songs were progressive and made of no real set formula or time barrier. Where as this is just simply put straight to the point simple, basic, watered down, and short. The entire album alone only clocks at 44 minutes for christ's sake! Check out Amid It's Hallowed Mirth, Sculptured Ivy And Stone Flowers, The Knowing and even To Welcome The Fade to really get Novembers Doom at their most resound and creative years. The 2 stars were given because as a Melodic Death Metal album it's sub-par. As a Novembers Doom album its a bad piece of work that contradicts the word Doom in Novembers Doom. How I recall those great times of real Doom glory "sigh"