Review Summary: DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
In the rumbling parts of Querétaro, Mexico, there was one man destined to bring the funeral doom across the border and into the hands of metallers scattered across the globe.. "Majestic Downfall" is a funeral doom band that leans heavily on providing haunting melodies along with the slow churning, heavy riffs typical to the Doom genre. For 10 years, Jacobo had played in a death/doom metal band by the name of "Antiqua" with marginal success. He left to form his own band "Majestic Downfall", deciding to make this his own group. Playing all the instruments and contributing all the vocals himself, Jacobo's latest release is a 3 track EP containing 24 minutes of material. This EP isn’t about the inclusion of gothic female vocals intertwining with harsh male vocals or keyboard overdose, but it is about creating a rocking, down tempo Doom record.
The sound of "Majestic Downfall isn't terribly unique from the other Doom bands in the scene today, recalling influences from such seminal groups, Anathema, My Dying Bride, and Novembers Doom. However, Jacobo excels at what he does and makes a good first impression with the demo. The production although not quite spectacular, which is to be expected on a demo, is actually handled quite well in providing an atmosphere for the music. Jacobo's vocals don't show too much diversity though, choosing to go the safe route with lower pitched death growls typical to Doom Metal. They are executed pretty well and add to the music instead of taking away. The guitar work provides the heaviness and most of the melodies as the key work is sparingly used which actually benefits the music greatly. The riffs remain slow to mid tempo, nothing out of the ordinary. On "In An Ocean Of Fears" the guitar work of Jacobo creates a foot tapping rhythm that brings about an unexpected energy and catchiness associated with this style of music.
The bass work hasn't been fully developed as it rarely makes it's presence felt. This is only a demo, I have faith in the future releases that the bass will be more prominent. The keyboard work isn't quite as stunning or dramatic as "Swallow The Sun" yet it sits well with me. The quality sounds pretty familiar to some of Burzum's work but nonetheless excel’s in providing the atmospheric edge the music needs. Drum work is pretty clear and lay's out the map of the EP with a lot of cool patterns to keep things buzzing. The drums are actually programmed although they sound pretty damn realistic. Nothing ever reaches to the point of the blast beat ridden rage that" Nile" is known for but instead keeps pace with the tempo of the guitar rhythms.
This might be lacking in originality for those music elitist’s out there but on a positive note, it shows the promising talent of Jacobo and his potential to add his name to the metal grounds. Catchy, heavy, melodic, what more could you want?. Fans of Anathema, My Dying Bride, or metal should give this band a try. I see bright things in the fresh new year of 2008.
Pros:
Heavy yet catchy.
Guitar work.
Cons:
Demo production.
Lack of vocal diversity might turn some off.
