Roll together Opeth, Katatonia, Amorphis, Daylight Dies, Novermber's Doom, October Tide, and My Dying Bride, and you have something that sounds like Germany's Decembre Noir. Their debut CD for FDA Rekotz is titled A Discouraged Believer, and features seven songs steeped in brooding atmosphere put packing a potent death metal/doom punch that surely will appeal to any of the bands mentioned above. Many of the songs are fairly lengthy, allowing the band to weave in melancholy interludes in between passages of brutal power. The opening title track might just be the strongest cut here, a monstrous, dark piece with some killer riffs to go along with haunting soundscapes, but other highlights include the emotional "The Forsaken Earth", the crushing "Decembre Noir", and the plodding, massive death march "Stowaway". The most conventional death metal tracks are probably the last two, "My Resurrection" and "Escape to the Sun", but even these contain plenty of progressive elements, the latter even complete with gorgeous female backing vocals, keyboards, and acoustic guitars.
A Discouraged Believer is a textured, highly enjoyable set of melodic, progressive doom/death metal, steeped in atmosphere and melancholy. Decembre Noir have arrived and will without a doubt be a band to keep your eyes on.
Track Listing
01 - A Discouraged Believer
02 - Thorns
03 - The Forsaken Earth
04 - Decembre Noir
05 - Stowaway
06 - My Resurrection
07 - Escape to the Sun
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