From Switzerland comes Zatokrev and their latest release Bury the Ashes, out now on the Finnish metal label Firebox. Bury the Ashes is crushing, apocalyptic doom metal, mixed with a healthy dose of post-rock bleakness for good measure. Shades of Neurosis, Isis, Gojira, My Dying Bride, and Godflesh, can be heard throughout this CD, which features seven long songs that drip with tortured vocals and massive guitar riffs. The band is a trio, made up of Silvio Spadino on drums, Marco Grementieri on bass & samples, and Frederk Rotter on guitars & vocals. While overall there's not a ton of variety here, you do get a few surprises along the way. "Trial" is a fun, post-rock journey ala Isis, filled with textured guitar patterns and Rotter's anguished vocal attack, while "Feeling Skin" is a plodding death march of Sabbath-like grandeur. Problems arise though on tunes like "The Fire", "Starlight Leader", and the title track, which, although they contain plenty of heaping sludge riffery and lots of atmosphere, tend to meander and go on a little too long. In the future it would be nice to see this band tackle some more compact arrangements, as it's evident they have some talent here that will certainly appeal to fans of modern doom and the heavier end of the post-rock genre.
Track Listing
1) Bury the Ashes
2) Starlight Leader
3) Void
4) Godless
5) Trial
6) Feeling Skin
7) The Fire