Fall of Empyrean - A Life Spent Dying Promo (2007)

Alright, I like Mournful Congregation. I understand that they're slow and relatively undynamic, but they still pull out a calm, mystical atmosphere that I find to be very enjoyable. However, when a band sounds like November's Doom (totally forced emotion, cliche and lacking music, horrible lyrics, etc etc) trying to sound like Mournful Congregation, well, I am not pleased. And that is exactly what the new Fall of Empyrean feels like - boring, hackneyed, shallow, and sometimes even laughable. The clean speaking that slips in every now and then is horrible, and the major source of said laughing. The guitars completely miss the point of doom, neither offering satisfying heaviness nor emotive atmosphere. Ineffectual piano tinkles and skitters behind the music, giving off some pretense of complexity. The death growls are fine, if uninspired. I probably would have fallen asleep if it weren't for teh chuckling.

It's sad, because their first full-length was a promising debut, and I expected some interesting work from these chaps. I actually think I might have liked some November's Doom better than this.

1/5