Napalm Records is on quite a roll these days, pumping out a whole host of solid new bands crossing many different genres of metal. Wisdom is the new release from doom act The Order of Israfel, a band put together by former Church of Misery guitarist Tom Sutton and ex-Doomdogs bassist Patrik Andersson Winberg, and rounded out with Hans Lilja & Staffan Bjorck. That's right, more quality metal from Sweden! Rooted in classic Black Sabbath, Candlemass, Saint Vitus, Opeth, and Monster Magnet, these guys combine thick, heavy doom riffing with powerful vocals and a progressive sense for a winning combination.
The near 10-minute title track kicks things off in high gear, and it's a great indication of what's to come as The Order of Israfel lay down some thrilling, dramatic, and potent doom. "The Black Wings a Demon" is a faster paced metal thumper, like a collision of Grand Magus, Sabbath, and BTO, while "The Noctuus" slows things down to a crawl with some delicious doomy death match riffs and tasty lead harmony lines. Saint Vitus fans will love this one! For a complete change of pace, the band launch into the folky "The Earth Will Deliver What Heaven Desires", a real Opeth styled piece that goes from gorgeous acoustic guitar picking to thunderous riffs, back to those lilting chords once again. "Born for War" chugs along mercilessly, and the 15+ minute epic "Promised Made to the Earth" basically follows the classic doom blueprint to perfection, chock full of crushing riffs, blazing leads, and plodding rhythms. The heaviest track though is saved for last, the lethal brontosaurus stomp of "Morning Sun (Satanas)", containing some premier riffing that will make any fan of Down quite happy.
This is some really, really heavy stuff, well executed and memorable. I will warn you, it's a long album, as many of the tunes approach the 9, 10 minute range and up, but if you have the patience, there's lots of killer doom metal to be found here. Well done guys.
Track Listing
1) Wisdom
2) The Black Wings a Demon
3) The Noctuus
4) The Earth Will Deliver What Heaven Desires
5) The Order
6) Born for War
7) Promised Made to the Earth
8) The Vow
9) Morning Sun (Satanas)
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