Their Napalm Records debut Wisdom hit the streets
yesterday 8/29/14 as of the time I am writing this review, and I would
recommend you check it out.
A short acoustic intro leads the way on the opening title
track ‘Wisdom’ which quickly contorts into distorted riffage accompanied by
sinister vocal croons. A mild splash of thrash metal tonality spikes an already
potent, spicy doom base to create a musical banquet fit for a heavy metal
king. The music is fast enough to whip your hair into your beard, but still has enough stoner fuzz to
cloud the pace ensuring a state of double vision. Speaking of Pace, this shit
isn't made in New York City. It comes to us by way of Sweden, the brainchild of
ex-Church of Misery member Tom Sutton. The Order of Israfel was brought to my
attention after signing with one of my current favorite record labels, Napalm
Records, who one can argue possess one of the strongest current catalogs of
Stoner/Doom/Rock/Metal bands on the scene. The Order of Israfel is no exception
utilizing heavy elements of doom, classic metal, rock, and at times even a bit
of folk. Vocally Sutton portrays a doom singer a la Cathedral, Place of Skulls, Church of
Misery, etc... Yet when listening closely he morphs it into a more accessible
Godsmack-ish metal form. I mean that in a positive way as Godsmack has a hit or miss reputation. The vocal tone accentuates the crunchy and melodic guitar
wails wickedly. Imagine if Metallica took the same path after And
Justice for All but instead of taking the low road to riches, they took the
high road to hell. Hell being the underground musical lair, strumming their
chords of malicious ecstasy. What gets me excited about this stuff is how they
can execute a relentlessly catchy riff, slather it in metallically perverted
solos, and maintain an understandable yet down to earth (doom) vocal. It's got
the whole package. Contender for year-end lists, and topping my last.fm charts
for the month. I order you all to stop what you're listening to and order The
Order Of Israfel over at Napalm Records now.
-The Huntsman
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