The 11th Hour is a new one man doom metal outfit created by drummer and multi-instrumentalist Ed Warby (Hail of Bullets, Gorefest). On the debut effort Burdon of Grief just released on Napalm Records, Warby realizes a dream of creating a fully fledged doom album, and one which finds him playing all of the instruments and taking care of everything himself save for the vocals which he shares with Rogga Johansson.
Burden of Grief lyrically deals with the bleak, last days of a man who is terminally ill, and how he tries to come to grips with the mistakes of his past in an attempt to redeem himself before he dies. To properly convey the central character's feelings of loss and regret, Warby has constructed an absolutely dark and punishing soundtrack to accompany it. Songs like the epic "Origins Of Mourning" and "Weep For Me" tread wearily forward with a plethora of slow and crushing guitar riffs as Warby's clean sounding, melancholic vocals are perfectly offset by Johansson's guttural, death metal vocals. The veil of unrelenting, permeating heaviness is only lifted on a few occasions by way of a subtle inclusion of the odd string section or piano passage to create a bit more ambience, otherwise it's a full on, straight up, in your face dose of despair for the full hour.
While the music on Burden Of Grief certainly won't win any awards for being original, if you're a fan of doom metal, that also has a smattering of death metal thrown in for good measure, then you'll probably find that this disc is worth checking out.
Track Listing
1) One Last Smoke
2) In The Silent Grave
3) Origins Of Mourning
4) Weep For Me
5) Atonement
6) Longing For Oblivion
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