Sanatana Dharma is the debut from Greek act The Slayerking, who are comprised of vocalist/bassist Efthimis K (from Nightfall), guitarist Kostas K, and drummer Anna E. This trio plays dark and gothic flavored doom, somewhat in the vein of Tiamat, My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost, and Nightfall, and the CD contains 8 tracks of somber, plodding metal that has its moments, though I'm failing to find anything that truly stands out as exceptional, despite the obvious effort that went into creating it. Some crushing riffs can be heard on "Black Mother of the Lord Light" and "Sargon of Akkad", and "Magnificent Desolation" features some intricate drum & bass rhythms swirling around the almost death metal riffing for a nice progressive touch. My biggest issue here is that too many of the songs rely so heavily on that brooding gothic flavor, so much so that what could have been kick ass tunes like "The Man That Never Was" and "Southern Gate of the Sun" get way too tempered thanks to limp goth styled vocals and musical passages. This band can get pretty heavy at times, but they don't keep it up consistently throughout the album, and allow for too much moody meandering to take charge and pull back on the intensity.
That being said, there's enough to recommend here for folks who love this sort of thing, and considering that this is The Slayerking's debut, I think the best is certainly yet to come for this trio.
Track Listing
1) She is My Lazarus
2) Black Mother of the Lord of Light
3) Sargon of Akkad
4) Magnificent Desolation
5) We Are the End
6) My Lai
7) The Man That Never Was
8) Southern Gate of the Sun
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
