‘Wings Of Tzinacan’ is the third album from Berlin-based occult doom outfit Albez Duz, and the 2nd release to feature vocalist Alfonso Brito.
Alfonso is certainly a man of many voices. There’s a kind of gnarly Eddie Vedder/Chris Cornell one, a deep Peter Steele type drawl, and a weird, wobbly one.
This may mean that despite the obvious musical might that this release displays, the constant switching of the vocal styles may start to annoy.
The grand throaty gestures sometimes seems at odds with the muddy doom riffs, but occasionally, pitched against the moody keyboards, the vocals work quite well.
As you can imagine, this makes ‘Wings Of Tzinacan’ an often frustrating experience.
The vox certainly compromise the first few tracks, despite the ominous organ and heavy riffage of opener ‘The Uprising’, the Paradise Lost flavour of ‘Reflections’ (which does have a great chorus though), and the lively pace of ‘Our Lord, The Flayed One’.
But things do improve however.
The Pink Floyd vibe of ‘Innocence Gate’ shows a keen sense of melody, and even includes a very Gilmour style solo, but from here on in, things get very Type O Negative.
The ridiculously epic ‘Sacred Flame’ just keeps on going, and sounds like an off-cut from the Brooklyn drab merchants ‘World Coming Down’ album, and the Peter Steele bass tone is strangely merged with the sound of pond animals on ‘Tzinacan Rising’.
Much better, is the moody ghost train dirge of ‘Death Whistle’, and the albums closing track, a cover of Death In June’s ‘Omen Filled Season’.
When ‘Wings Of Tzinacan’ hits the mark, it’s actually quite majestic, a shame then, that the albums often overwrought nature tends to hamper its effectiveness.
(5.5/10 Stuart Carroll)
Leave a Reply