HOODED MENACE - Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration
Season of Mist
Imagine you are one of those bands which helped re-introduce / recreate a sub-genre style of Extreme Metal (aka Death Doom) that a decade later would see a hundred copy-cats? Back in 2010 I wouldn't have guessed that while I was blasting this Finnish band's second album, Never Cross the Dead. Since then I've been a fan of HOODED MENACE and have no problem mentioning em whenever I hear another band influenced by them as well as others.
Fast forward to a few years back and HOODED MENACE decided to be Finland's version of MY DYING BRIDE. That started with 2015's Darkness Drips Forth. OK that might be a bit of an exaggeration but the band did move away from the crush kill and destroy style to a more wide ranging exploration of Death Doom. They embraced the meloncholy and standard Metal styles to progress themselves forward in order to be exciting.
Hey let's be honest here. How many Finnish Death Metal or Death Doom acts do you know who started out heavy as fuck only to mellow out an album or two later? I can think of a dozen plus. The difference is HOODED MENACE move onward at a snail's pace as opposed to past acts who just flipped a switch. The fact is that 2015's Darkness Drips Forth was an experiment which worked. Ossuarium Silhouettes Unhallowed from 2018 was a step backward but still a great release. But then on 2021's The Tritonus Bell, an album I liked a lot, the band were like hears the path we're following now.
Lachrymose Monuments of Obscuration is simply a continuation of experimenting with their Death Doom sound without going off the template. I'm sure some people will question them covering a DURAN DURAN song, "Save a Prayer". Hey at least it ain't "Hungry Like A Wolf" which I obviously despise. The traditional Metal style thrown in here reminds me of stuff KING DIAMOND use to do. Of course when you hear the keyboards and cello work you think MY DYING BRIDE.
In the end hey since Harri Kuokkanen took over on vocals which allowed Lasse Pyykko to concentrait more on compositions as well as great guitar work. This band has become more of a surprise which each album as oppossed to a stick in the mud. I'm sure they like that new bands are copying their old style to the hilt. Which is why they're creating new sounds for people to enjoy. Great Album!
https://www.season-of-mist.com/
LISTEN HERE:
https://hoodedmenace.bandcamp.com/album/lachrymose-monuments-of-obscuration
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