Customer Reviews

Stream from the Heavens

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Funeral doom has never been the most popular subgenre of metal music. Thergothon , who practically invented funeral doom, have never been popular either. A real shame I think , since this album , their first one (and last for that cause) , is one of the best doom metal albums of all times. Die hard doom fans consider this as cult. But enough history, let's move on to the music. Thergothon plays some of the slowest music one will ever hear. Very slow and very low (downtuned) guitars form their songs, together with very low tempo drums. Something resembling the sound of an organ is used on some tracks, which gives nice hints of melancholy throughout the songs. The vocals are worth to mention, since they are some of the deepest growls I've ever heard and will get a few thinking : "How does he do that??". Sometimes he uses his clean vocals too and others he makes a nice combination of both like on "Everlasting" and "Who Rides the Astral Wings". The production on this album ranges from bad to awful but some people may find it fitting on the cold atmosphere this album holds. I can say that this album is one of the most depressing and emotional stuff I have ever heard without sounding pretentious or overdone. Infact they don't even try to be depressive but the whole album spells melancholy throughout its 45 minutes of duration. Highly recommended!

A landmark in obscure metal music, thergothon put the emphasis in recreating the feeling of mourning into reailty. since than, the band has been labeled as "funeral doom", regarded as pioners of the genre which has still hasn't exactly topped the concepts of this disc. musics simple, chords lasting 2-4 measures, extremely slow, unusual guttural vocals, occasional accomp. w/ extremely high pitched synths yet the band's emphasis on texture and atmosphere is off the roof. little is known about the group other than whats given on their offical website dedicated to their short existence. the band has about ney appeal in terms of jaw-dropping musicanship or any sort of well-constructed songwriting, but to those who see it for what it really is, it is a sincere expression that truly embodies the damned and the dead. its not happy music, neither is it music that will pump your adrenaline up before a big fight or something...yet it takes little concentration to be sucked into its hallow, depressive feel. those who come across this page will probably deed this writing unnecessary, due to the fact if you found your way across "Streaming from the heavens", your probably already a fan of doom music already, but to the intrested, know that the band and the genre itself is very refreshing to those metal fans whom grown tired of the modern metalhead taste for balls-out technicality(nercophagist-caliber techincal mumbojumbo), and meat-heated metalcore;deathcore. the doom metal genre is usually very underappreciated, and usually unrecognized for its possibiltes in versatility and songwriting. this release has been very important to remind listeners, that metal can be used to unleash one's innerexpression, and that the music should accnowledged more for its attitude and approach to songwriting, rather than its musicanship.

This album evokes the feelings of sadness and eternity of a funeral procession (which I myself have taken part in, so I know how it feels). The simplicity of this album simply adds to the ambiance and emotion. Not only is this a beautiful release, it inspired an entire new genre of doom, funeral doom, which is one of my favorite metal genres. One thing is that you will either love it or hate it. If your idea of metal is Blind Guardian style melodies or Cryptopsy style technicality/speed, you WILL HATE THIS ALBUM.

Thergothon was one of those doom/death outfits with status in the previous decades. They were discussed around doom circles, but never really hailed as one of the greats. After wasting my cash on this CD, I now know why.

Everything about Stream From the Heavens is amateurish at best. The music is pieced together cut-and-paste style with uninteresting power-chorded rhythms that make little use of the melody that this genre has trademarked. The lyrics and vocal presentation are extremely weak, and the production is one of the worst in my collection. Even if something interesting was captured on this recording, you could barely hear it over the obscene amount of high-end in the mix anyway. Thergothon is a band that will make you want to openly weep. . . out of sheer boredom, and the $50 import price is not worth it at all! I purchased this CD for $10 through an underground distro, and even then I feel that I've wasted my money.

-l-