I've always had a love for good doomy metal, and considering I grew up on Black Sabbath, it's no surprise that I later became fascinated with bands like Candlemass, Cathedral, and Tad Morose. Mourning Beloveth have been around for about 11 years now, and Dust was actually the bands first full-length release, originally recorded in 2001 but now seeing an official release on Sentinal Records. These guys create a huge wall of doomy sludge, musically very similar to early Cathedral, and mix lots of death metal growlings with some ocassional clean vocals.
One thing I really like about Dust is the epic nature of the album. Tunes like "In Mourning My Days" and "The Mountains Are Mine" are lengthy numbers that range from slow, plodding dirges, to full-on thrash assaults, much like early Fates Warning. The gloomy title track has perhaps one of the heaviest guitar riffs I've heard since the early days of Candlemass, and the tortured death vocals just scream pain and suffering. "Autumnal Fires" is one of the more melodic pieces on the CD, with clean vocals and emotional lead guitar work soaring over the heavy doom riffs and plodding rhythm section. The band mixes crushing yet complex riffs with a myriad of vocal styles on "All Hope is Pleading", and tackles morose melancholic textures on the instrumental "Sinistra."
Included on this release is "It Almost Looked Human" from their forthcoming CD The Sullen Sulcus, as well as "Forever Lost Emeralds", a song from an earlier demo. Both of these tunes show how the band has grown over the years. Musically this CD is a fine representation of classic doom, although for some the vocals might be a bit harsh at times.
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