Quiescence is the full-length Candlelight Records debut from Italian blackened doom act Shores of Null. All the members come from other bands such as Zippo, The Orange Man Theory, Noumeno, Mens Phrenetica, and Il Grande Scisma D'Oriente, and they've come together to play a melodic, atmospheric, but very heavy form of metal that combines elements of doom, black metal, death metal, prog, and gothic rock. Throughout Quiescence you can hear a little Katatonia, some Opeth, Enslaved, Amorphis, Novembers Doom, My Dying Bride, Insomnium, Primordial, Borknagar, even perhaps a little Type O Negative and Alice in Chains, so don't expect Shores of Null to wow you with originality. But, in saying that, this is a very solid album, complete with some very cool riffs, plenty of ominous atmosphere, and a great mix of clean melodic vocals, death metal growls, and black metal styled rasps. Most of the songs have multiple vocal styles going on, which allows the listener to constantly guess which way the band is going to take them next. "Souls of the Abyss" and "Night Will Come" alternate between catchy, gothic metal fare and the more extreme aspects of death & black metal, with well placed riffs and tasty guitar solos, while "Kings of Null" delivers the doom and "Ruins Alive" sees the blast beats & tremolo picked guitar riffs blazing a scorching path. Love the crushing riffs & menacing growls on "The Heap Of Meaning", the massive groove of the punishing "Time is a Waste Land", and the textured death/doom of the closer "Eudaemonia".
Many bands could learn a thing or two about combining melodic & brutal vocals in the fashion that Shores of Null have delivered here. Quiescence is a highly engaging album from these Italians, and let's hope they find time between their main acts to get together and do this again in the near future.
Track Listing
01_0x0000
02_Kings Of Null
03_Souls Of The Abyss
04_Night Will Come
05_Ruins Alive
06_Quiescent
07_The Heap Of Meaning
08_Time Is A Waste Land
09_Pain Masquerade
10_Eudaemonia
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