You don't often hear of one-man bands when it comes to doom, but that's what you get with The Heresiarch, the debut Shadow Kingdom Records debut from Nupraptor, the solo project from White Hornet mastermind Matt St. Ours. The Baltimore, Maryland multi-instrumentalist takes the influences of Saint Vitus, Candlemass, Paradise Lost, Type O Negative, Count Raven, and Warning and has created here his own vision of modern doom metal over the course of seven potent original tunes. "Through the Smoke" has a slow, ponderous feel to it, drenched in St. Ours' mountain of riffs and high pitched vocals, while "Burning the Believers" takes an even slower, more funeral approach, some effects laden, harsh vocals and lead guitars added to the mix for a venomous feel. For the atmospheric title track, things slow down to a crawl, the sustained riffs saturated in distortion and the vocals drifting like a haze of smoke over the top, while "Wasting Away" features more of a traditional doom laden arrangement, the drums pounding and the riff commanding. At nearly 13-minutes, closer "The Fall of Christ" takes things into epic territory, as slight progressive elements pop up between the enormous riffing and bleak atmosphere, with some tasty lead guitar solos added for further variety.
As solid as The Heresiarch is, you can totally feel the 'one guy did it all' nature of the recording, which might put some listeners off. The vision of this project however is crystal clear, and it will be interesting to see if Matt St. Ours decides to form an actual band around Nupraptor going forward.
Track Listing
01 Black Mass 2:22
02 Through The Smoke 6:47
03 Burning The Believers 7:41
04 The Heresiarch 9:18
05 Before the Eyes of God 5:29
06 Wasting Away 7:32
07 The Fall Of Christ 11:37
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