Pale Divine are a classic doom band from Pennsylvania who have been around in various incarnations since the mid -'90s, but this 2007 release Cemetery Earth is generally considered their breakthrough. Now being remastered by Shadow Kingdom Records and containing a bonus disc with plenty of demo, live, and rehearsal material, this crushing album can now be enjoyed by those who might have missed it the first time around.
Clearly inspired by Black Sabbath, Pentagram, Judas Priest, Trouble, Iron Maiden, Blue Cheer, Saint Vitus, Cathedral, and Candlemass, Pale Divine hit on all the classic doom and heavy blues metal points throughout Cemetery Earth. When you talk about this type of music, it's always all about the riffs, and there are plenty of crushing, sizzling riffs to be found here. "Fire and Ice", "Broken Wings", "The Eyes of Destiny", and "(I Alone) The Traveller" contain super fuzzed, molten blues/metal guitar dirges that will send fans of the bands I mentioned above into fits of joy. Guitarist/vocalist Greg Diener lays down all the bruising riffage and explosive solos, and he does a tremendous job keeping it all fresh and not rehashing classic riffs from the past. There are some truly epic tracks here, including "Cemetery Earth", "Shadows of Death", and "The Conqueror Worm" that not only bring on the monstrous doom but also some hypnotic psychedelic moments, with trippy, wah-wah drenched lead guitar work and plenty of ominous atmosphere.
The bonus disc contains a wealth of early Cemetery Earth material, and it's of varying quality due to most of the tracks being demo or rehearsal versions of songs that made up the eventual album, but it's still an intriguing listen, especially the crushing live tracks. Overall this is a very cool reissue of a killer album from a severely overlooked US doom act.
Track Listing
CD1
1. The Eyes of Destiny
2. Fire and Ice
3. Broken Wings
4. (I Alone) The Traveller
5. Cemetery Earth
6. Empyream Dream
7. The Seventh Circle
8. Soul Searching
9. Shadows of Death
10. The Conqueror Worm
CD2
Demo 2006
1. Eyes of Destiny
2. Broken Wings
3. Cemetery Earth
4. (I Alone) The Traveller
5. Fire and Ice
Live from Howlers Coyote Café; Pittsburgh, PA 6-21-2011
6. (I Alone) The Traveller
7. Soul Searching
8. I've Been Around Too Long * (Marmalade cover)
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