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Saint Vitus
Mournful Cries


4.0
excellent

Review

by sonictheplumber USER (92 Reviews)
August 4th, 2012 | 40 replies


Release Date: 1988 | Tracklist


At this point in their career Saint Vitus had established themselves as a metal force to be reckoned with, creating three heavy metal classics and receiving praise from many in the music world, but still the metal world had largely left them unnoticed. Metal bands seemed only allowed to take a few paths - the dual-guitar, happy-go-lucky galloping style of Iron Maiden, the fast and Satanic sounds of Slayer, or the poppy and commercial "metal" produced by groups like Ratt and Motley Crue. A band like Saint Vitus fit in nowhere in the 80's metal scene with their slow and depressing riffs which took inspiration from groups like Black Sabbath and Pentagram, not Priest or Maiden or Metallica. With little to no commercial success at all, touring most often with other little-known (to the metal world) groups like Black Flag, Vitus could've easily sped up the pace and made some money, but instead of compromising their unique sound the group pressed on and got even heavier and even slower.

Mournful Cries doesn't really expand on any of the group's previous three albums, but what it does a perfect job of doing is creating an archetype for how nearly all doom metal bands to follow would sound. It takes the perfected formula established on their classic Born Too Late album and simply makes it even doomier and even heavier. There's nothing flashy or bombastic about this music at all; it is stripped-down and raw doom metal that many headbangers at the time could not understand because it sounded so alien and barren, and were it not for the growing popular of doom metal over the past decade, it would sound just as alien and barren to listeners today. Luckily, groups like the Melvins and Electric Wizard took notice of what Vitus were doing and popularized it, bringing Saint's music to a far wider audience because of bands like those stating Vitus as an influence.

All tracks are slow, plodding, evil and heavy (except slightly uptempo opener "The Creeps") - many bands have tried to do an album like this since, but few, if any, doom bands since Vitus have been able to capture the doom sound so well. Vitus used their huge Sabbath influence to their advantage and still managed to sound unique, while many others have simply plagiarized in hopes of sounding as badass as their forefathers.



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user ratings (152)
3.9
excellent
other reviews of this album
PsychicChris (5)
Another easily overlooked Saint Vitus album but one that might secretly be their best...



Comments:Add a Comment 
KILL
August 4th 2012


81580 Comments


dude i'm gay ive only heard born

KILL
August 4th 2012


81580 Comments


yea i gota check damn sweet review too why arent you staff????????

SgtPepper
Emeritus
August 4th 2012


4510 Comments


Good review, man. I have few of their albums but haven't heard all of their stuff. POS'd. Classic Doom metal.

Voivod
Staff Reviewer
August 4th 2012


10937 Comments


Very well written and to the point review, pos.

Back in the '80s, no metal band wanted to play with St. Vitus, so the band went up to play and tour with punk/hardcore bands.

Oddly enough, punk/hardcore fans were the first breed of extreme music afficionados that really embraced these guys.

On another note, I haven't listened to anything from these guys and I should change that asap.


Ire
August 4th 2012


41944 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

yeah this is one of their best gj cagle

Trebor.
Emeritus
August 4th 2012


60012 Comments


Most of the people that I know that listen to doom and sludge and stoner rock and what not are punks

GhettoHmbrglr
August 4th 2012


1022 Comments


some damn fine pentatonic blues metal indeed

KILL
August 4th 2012


81580 Comments


first listen and rulez

JamieTwort
August 4th 2012


26988 Comments


Band rules m/

YoYoMancuso
Staff Reviewer
August 4th 2012


19316 Comments


album is fucking intense, pos'd

ZedO
August 5th 2012


1096 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

"A band like Saint Vitus fit in nowhere in the 80's metal scene with their slow and depressing riffs which took inspiration from groups like Black Sabbath and Pentagram, not Priest or Maiden or Metallica. "



Interesting, I'm exited

ZedO
August 5th 2012


1096 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

enjoying this ' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fl8zUK5SSY

ZedO
August 5th 2012


1096 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

hell yes, btw in ur opinion, is this album their best album to date?

ZedO
August 5th 2012


1096 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

okay m/

LifeAsAChipmunk
August 5th 2012


4852 Comments


"no, the 3 before it are better"

Dang.

ZedO
August 5th 2012


1096 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

hell trve

Nagrarok
August 5th 2012


8656 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Guess I'll be getting those first three albums.

KILL
August 5th 2012


81580 Comments


fuck

Jethro42
August 5th 2012


18281 Comments


@Nagrarok, how is your Genesis discog going?

Nagrarok
August 5th 2012


8656 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Unfortunately not going anywhere at the moment, will be picking it up sooner or later.



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