Material Sanctuary

Doom metal has always been an interesting genre, albeit one I mostly avoided. Granted, technically speaking, it was perhaps the first genre of metal to come into existence (what with Black Sabbath and all), but for some reason I've always feigned interest, and even at that, rather weakly; something about skull heavy, bass oriented, and plodding music always spelled boredom for me, and not even the occasional bouts of strong vocals could help out - this was, in particular, the case with Trouble and Solitude Aeternus - great singers, but at least for me, that was it. Nonetheless, I haven't given up on this style of music totally, and I always thought that if a band managed to make doom INTERESTING to listen to, then there should be no reason for me not to get their stuff; if a band perhaps, I dunno, lightened up on the bass, added some over-the-top progressive and symphonic elements, made the songs lengthy, and of course...kept the outstanding vocals - that's more than ample reason to show genuine interest, if you ask me. Well, needless to say, it must have been my lucky day since Veni Domine (VD) did just this and more - inevitably enough, the result was one hell of an album.

VD is a Swedish band that's been around since the early '90s, and 'Material Sanctuary' is release number two for them (they had a new album in late '98, their third, which got something of a mixed response), continuing along the fine lines of the debut, though perhaps slower and a bit colder (less melodic, in other words). The band is quite talented throughout, however special credit has to be given to two particular aspects here...for one, the symphonic qualities of the music - every song is full to the brim with epic keyboard - both lead and background - and they add a menacing, wicked quality to the songs, quite beyond description really...this stuff has to be heard!! Number two is, of course, Fredrik Ohlsson - the inevitable Geoff Tate comparison comes through, but don't despair thinking that the guy is some sort of a clone...if anything he is very much the opposite of the aforementioned, utilizing the Tate style, yes, but mostly in terms of the high ranges which dominate the larger portion of the disc. He occasionally takes his voice down somewhat to some deeper octaves only to have it soar again within brief moments (particularly true on several tracks here). My only real complaint with him are the occasional drab and neutral vocal lines - this adds and subtracts in a way - while enhancing the wickedness of the material, this drops the melody down a notch - nonetheless a small price to pay for the overall effect, I think. Yes, and I guess I should also mention that the due to lyrical content, the band is classified as Christian metal...nowhere near as philosophical/prophetic as their label mates Saviour Machine (unfortunately nowhere near as well written either), theirs is more of a fantasy/narrative deal set against Biblical backgrounds - past, present, future. The lyrics aren't the best out there, but the themes more than make up for it - ceremonial meetings, sinful rituals, the wrath of lions, and so forth...you get the idea :-)

Now be aware - this is still doom metal - most exemplified by the bludgeoning riffs, powerful guitar distortion, and the almost constant lack of speed. However, as long as you're not expecting lightning-fast Euro-metal, this should not be a problem (and if you are, DO pick up Gamma Ray's 'Powerplant', cause that album f**king rules!! :-)...What VD does to make the package sound truly classy is add all their bells and whistles here, these being almost integral to their special brand of sound. The songs are entirely open ended with almost constant tempo changes, the choruses are often gargantuan in size, and there are tons of chants and mammoth keyboards adding on to the atmospherics...all of course complemented by Fredrik's splendid vocal skills ad infinitum. The aforementioned structures are found on just about every song, so as I said before, as long as you're ok with the doom aspects, you should have no problem here.

If you've read up to here, you'll probably understand, and this goes without saying, that every track is a highlight...however I shall point out some particularly dazzling moments for the disc..."Ecclesiastes" features some absolutely lung piercing vocals during the chorus section, as does "Behold the Signs", the latter being entirely overwhelmed with symphonic keyboards (not a bad thing, mind you). "Ritual of the Sinner" is very tight and strong throughout, and while by no means FAST, features a splendid ripping riff structure. "The Mass" strives off the hypnotic vocal performance which gives new meaning to what 'yearning' vocals are. Finally, album finale "Beyond the Doom" starts with a piano, accompanied by dramatic, (again) yearning vocals before building up to a heavy, emotionally drenching (not to mention depressing) ending...the song reminds me of Iced Earth's "Question of Heaven" for a whole variety of reasons, not excluding both format and concept. For fear of being redundant, I won't overburden you, the reader, with this (anymore), but all the songs are indeed quite exceptional.

VD has found its own musical niche for the moment, since there's almost nothing out there right now that sounds quite like them...Memory Garden (who are, would you believe it, also from Sweden) bear certain similarities on a rather superficial level (equally great vocals, plodding riffs, etc.), but as far as the style goes, VD does indeed earn some big points for originality. 'Material Sanctuary' is a powerful, well written album, and despite the lack of speed, the music is accessible enough to fans of both the power and progressive ilk. There's enough ripping heaviness here to keep even the most jaded power metal fan listening, and on top of that are the intricacies of the songs and the splendid use of keys, which would put the average prog fan into a state of ecstatic stupor. Definite thumbs up here...

My rating - 8.8
By Ilya Ulberg
more metal reviews