As the album title suggests, there’s a strong doom metal element in this work. Whilst occasional comparison can be drawn with My Dying Bride, Mourning Beloveth and so forth, Ukrainian band Amily create a broader base of patterns and progressions as good doom bands should do to make a more interesting atmosphere.
From the beginning “To All in Graves” has a strong gothic and scary element. Discordant violins and the inexorable sound of a church organ convey images of ruin and grey, crumbling buildings. Continuing amid cheerless gloom, “Fading Image of My Own” takes us into hefty doom. This is interrupted by angelic operatic vocals but this chugging piece is about dead end roads and doleful crosses. A child-like voice comes in at the end, making us fearful for them as no child should be exposed to this bleak scene. After an orchestral beginning, “Renaissance Day” takes the doom to a mechanical level. The sinister spoken word and deathly growls then accompany the deep and penetrating “Daydreams of Peeled Wallflower”. The gothic chorus does nothing to dispel the grey and black imagery. The dark orchestra merely reinforces the depression. “Under The Black Voile” briefly plays with us in its disturbingly gothic way, prefacing the powerful and didactic “Winds of Culmination”. ”How dare you break the rules”, growls the vocalist to the mechanical rhythm of a punishment ship in full flow. The creepiness smacks strongly of Dark Fortress and Malsain. There’s a deathly majesty about “Winds of Culmination” which is suggestive of mental indoctrination. Gothic choirs and orchestral blasts paint black scenes. Then the deep voice returns for “Rejected Cells”. It’s faster than doom but again that mix of menace and orchestral foreboding dictate the hopeless scene. The pounding is relentless but brighter than your average doom. As relentless as it is, discordant chaos never seems far away. Spoken vocals can be heard. The piano is used for sinister effect. The track title “Forever Cold” sums up the classic piece of orchestral doom which follows. “A strange feeling shreds my flesh”, growls the vocalist. Quite. Isolation, loneliness and despair can all be found, especially on the title track, and are embellished by the sound of the gothic organ. The gothic choir, which I enjoyed very much, comes into play on “Funeral of Love”, the final track. The hammer finally comes down.
While enhancing the standard doom scenario with a gothic orchestra, choral passages and the overall ambiance, as the album progressed I started to find that the ingredients were recycled. The point had already been made. “To All In Graves” transcends mere ponderous doom and succeeds in creating a gothic atmosphere. Harsh and deep, this isn’t an album to be friends with. After impressively scary beginnings, I found that the album became a little predictable and uniform. Although I think the object was achieved and I liked a lot of it, by the end of “To All In Graves”, I wasn’t thirsting for more.
(6 / 10 Andrew Doherty)
http://www.facebook.com/Amilyband
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