CoC : Mourning Beloveth - The Sullen Sulcus : Review

Mourning Beloveth - _The Sullen Sulcus_
(Aftermath, 2003)
by: Pedro Azevedo (9 out of 10)

Irish doomsters Mourning Beloveth are back with the follow-up to their commendable debut _Dust_, this time with a record label behind them. Opener "The Words That Crawled" sets the pattern for the rest of the album: slow, heavy doom metal with pronounced riffs and sorrowful guitar work, tortured guttural vocals and despondent clean vocal passages. With Mags again at the production helm in the legendary Academy Studio, Mourning Beloveth virtually guaranteed _The Sullen Sulcus_ would be bestowed with a powerful, well balanced sound that would fit their British doom metal roots perfectly -- and so it happened. Despite their band name and having plenty in common with My Dying Bride sound-wise, Mourning Beloveth's brand of doom metal is not particularly romantic and certainly not orchestrally enhanced on _The Sullen Sulcus_ -- a case where the album title tells more about the music than the band name. Either way, Mourning Beloveth are one of those doom bands that simply do not allow the listener to even raise his eyes from the ground for the duration of the disc, and that sort of consistency tends to score highly with doom connoisseurs. Such is the case on _The Sullen Sulcus_: accompanied by excellent doom vocals and percussion, miserable guitar harmonies follow slow bone-crushing riffs in a cycle that renews itself over and over again, digging a grave ever deeper in which all hope is buried. _The Sullen Sulcus_ is a more accomplished album than its predecessor, with the band showing more consistency and stronger ideas; Mourning Beloveth have not yet reached the level of My Dying Bride or Evoken, but they are certainly getting closer. Until then, _The Sullen Sulcus_ is more than just another highlight in what's been a fine year for the genre: it is the best doom metal I've heard this year.

Contact: http://www.mourningbeloveth.com

(article published 27/10/2003)

CHATS
12/8/2001	P Azevedo	Mourning Beloveth: Earth to Earth, Ashes to Ashes...

ALBUMS
28/4/2013	P Azevedo	9	Mourning Beloveth - Formless
2/7/2008	P Azevedo	9	Mourning Beloveth - A Disease for the Ages
10/3/2005	P Azevedo	8.5	Mourning Beloveth - A Murderous Circus
1/9/2002	P Azevedo	8	Mourning Beloveth - Dust
13/5/2001	P Azevedo	8	Mourning Beloveth - Dust