EvangelistThere must be literally millions of metal bands in the world; some good, some awful. With so many bands with the passion for loud, heavy music, it is almost impossible to come up with something entirely original, without referring to other, older, pioneering bands. Mysterious doom metal acolytes Evangelist from Poland have loudly declared their love for the classic, epic sound of Candlemass et al on this, their sophomore release. Seeing as originality is pretty much a moot point in this genre (and probably in most metal genres), lets instead explore what Evangelist have to offer.

The members of Evangelist wish to remain anonymous, and as it says on the press release that I got with their album, they prefer to let the music do the talking. The music in question is some excellently crafted traditional doom metal, undeniably influenced by the Swedish masters.  Gargantuan, mournful and heavy riffs beat you slowly and methodically into submission, with maudlin arpeggios and melodies interwoven into the music to add extra melodrama. Very similar to Candlemass, there is a distinctly sombre, hymnal feel about the songs, yet with some surprisingly rousing choruses. The vocals do not have the warbling, high drama of the mercurial Messiah, yet have a great deal of power and feeling (and remind me a lot of Johan Längquist, the singer on Candlemass’ first album).

One thing that sets Evangelist apart from many other bands of this genre is the quality of their song writing. So often, doom bands seem to think that if they make it sound as heavy as lead; that will be good enough. On this release, Evangelist have crafted 5 crushing masterpieces of almost flawless, epic doom, complete with great, memorable riffs, well-played, melancholy solos and huge, soaring choruses. The songs actually stay with you after you’ve finished listening, and there isn’t any filler material in the entire 40-odd minutes (in my opinion at least). Doom metal of this quality is a rare thing indeed. A truly great production does this album no bad turn either, the drums are cavernous, the vocals have a lot power, clarity and presence, and the guitars simultaneously crush and weep with melancholy (if such a thing is possible).

One thing that some metal fans may have trouble with is the Christian theme within the lyrics, however I don’t really think these have been written in a `preachy’ way. The songs are mostly written from a historical perspective, touching on subjects like the Inquisition and the Crusades. Admittedly I can’t hear all of what is being sung (some of it is rather heavily accented), and I have no lyric sheet. Anyway, in this case, the Devil doesn’t always have the best tunes.

Fans of classic, epic doom metal should definitely give this album their attention, if only for the great song writing.

(8.5/10 Jon Butlin)

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