Genre: Death/Doom/Gothic Metal
Label: Lifeforce
Date of Release: January 21, 2013
SEPULCHRAL DEATH DOOM
Finland is one of the greatest nests of influential and
well-renowned melodic and doom metal acts, including Nightwish, Ghost Brigade, and
Swallow The Sun. Sextet Hanging Garden is among this list of these dramatically
melodic groups. Established in 2004 from Mikkeli, Southern Savonia, this group
has released two full-length records, “Inherit the Eden” in 2007 and “Teotwawki”
in 2009, both under Spikefarm Records. Since then, they have stuck a deal with
German record label Lifeforce Records, which has been known for harboring bands
such as Omnium Gatherum, Deadlock, and Devilish Impressions. This is where
Hanging Garden’s third full-length entitled “At Every Door” makes it entrance
in early 2013. Brandishing eight tracks with the time length reaching almost an
hour, the sextet makes its return after four years to invoke sorrowful tunes
among their audience.
Firstly, “At Every Door” achieves success is musicianship
and the production. The vocals are truly one of the greatest highlights that
this record showcases, ranging effortlessly from deep bellows and growls to gloomy
monologues to transcendently gloomy singing. These dimensions are incredibly
well focused while the vocalist retains a sense of nice well-roundedness. The
drumming technique is nothing truly special, but the way they were recorded and
mixed allows this percussion to sound very solid and resonant, thus developing
a very sturdy musical framework for the other elements. The guitars rival the
vocals as the album’s musical outstanding, playing somber, slow, and hypnotic
melodies for a haunting atmosphere. The sound production gives the music an
atmospheric somewhat ambient aura to it. With all these components performed
greatly, the musicianship is one of the greatest strengths of this album.
Next are the songs themselves, which follow a grand formula of
depressive and melodic amalgamation of doom metal, death metal, and a hint of
gothic somberness. The resonant, deep singing, the echoing guitar melodies, and
the melancholic synthesizer effects all integrate to create a grim yet euphoric
atmosphere, while the growling, unclean vocals and the slowly pounding drums
build a framework of ghostly brutality. Both realms coalesce together with
wonderful flow, as well as the songs bearing excellent buildup, drama, and a nice
reverberating tone. The melodies altogether are quite spine-chilling and
entrancing, lacing in with the murky fusion of death and doom metal gracefully.
The generally sluggish pacing also helps the record reach higher grounds of enjoyment,
underlining the dark ambience and the echoing atmosphere of the phantom tunes. With
all of these different facets intertwining greatly with each other, “At Every
Door” is as successful in its tracks as it is with the group’s musicianship.
“At Every Door” is an excellently crafted metal record. While
it does not truly break any molds for the death-doom metal genre, this is one
of those albums that display the genre very well. The musicianship is stellar,
the structure is very solid and has great buildup, and the music alone is bleakly
powerful and captivating. The melodies are euphorically mournful, and the
cheerlessly brutal side of the death-doom music the album offers is steady yet nicely
devastating. Hanging Garden has certainly progressed from their previous
efforts, and the end result is a fine specimen of gothic death-doom metal. This
album is definitely one for fans of artistically dark and gloomy metal
alongside acts such as Evoken and Katatonia. In this top-notch doom record, delightfully
dark tracks will drift and creep towards you at every door.
Score: 9/10 (Excellent)
Score: 9/10 (Excellent)
