Yeah, I know this is the most badass band name ever, FULL STOP. I mean before I even listened to The Serpent Coven I had already given these Finns 5 stars just for having the silliest heavy metal name of all time. A name like The Wandering Midget in doom metal is probably the equivalent of letting out a really loud fart at a funeral for the Queen, and then you and your friends sitting about snickering at it. Luckily this fart isn't a terrible one, in fact its quite pleasant.
So now I'm going to stop talking in analogies and actually get to the music. TWM plays doom metal the only way you can; heavy and slow. With a lot of Reverend Bizarre influences flying around especially in the tone, some people may feel like there is very little that this band brings to the table that we haven't already heard. True, they have only been around for 4 years but The Serpent Coven is just such a good herald to the evil doom laden sound that many people found to be exactly what they wanted to listen to as a helpful reminder to why they were committing suicide back in the glory days of Candlemass and peers.
Of course I still feel as though there is a certain modern twist to this album. This modernization seems mainly present in the structure of the songs and the use of an intro which made me think at any one point that this album was going to turn into thrashing black metal. It was just that wicked. While the riffs are rollickingly standard doom the solos seem a bit sludgier and stoner-ish, which isn't too bad really. The only complaint I have about them is that they seem a bit off, this might be due to the production, which strangely enough isn't great.
With every song, except the intro, being over 8 minutes long this is quite a long album but strangely enough, unlike many other old school doom metal bands, The Wandering Midget doesn't send me to sleep seeing as there is always some riff, some beat, some cheesy lyric to get into and bop your head along to. So for the sake of being cheesy myself, I ponder where this midget will wander next?
Track Listing
1.Pillars Of Sapiris
2.Taynia
3.Family Curse
4.The Thing From The Black Reef
5.Bring Forth The Accused
6.The Serpent Coven
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