Sweden's The Order of Israfel unleash their latest platter of Cathedral/Candlemass/Grand Magus/Pentagram/Black Sabbath/Witchcraft influenced doom in the form of Red Robes, an 8 song album out now on Napalm Records. There's an epic, somewhat mystical feel throughout these tunes, which are long on heavy, crushing riffs, but just as much steeped in glorious early Rainbow styled extravagance as they are punishing death march dirges. The title track contains a killer riff to go along with its occult themes, and other tracks like "Staff in the Sand", "In Thrall to the Sorceress", and "Von Sturmer" provide plenty of headbanging moments as well as thrilling, wah-wah soaked guitar solos. Some folky acoustic touches are added to more progressive pieces "Swords to the Sky" and "Fallen Children", while the gargantuan "The Thirst" is nearly 16-minutes of doom, gloom, and slow, punishing menace.
Red Robes is a pretty solid album, filled with some great riffs and heavy arrangements, and while the vocals can be a tad one dimensional at times, they are definitely unique sounding and fit the tone of the music. A easy doom release to recommend!
Track Listing
1) Staff in the Sand
2) The Red Robes
3) In Thrall to the Sorceress
4) Swords to the Sky
5) Von Sturmer
6) Fallen Children
7) A Shadow in the Hills
8) The Thirst
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