NOVEMBERS DOOM: The Novella Reservoir

Cover	Release	Style
	2007-02-17	doom / death metal
	Label
	www.theendrecords.com / www.LSP-COMPANY.com / Suburban
	Website
	www.novembersdoom.com
	Contact
	-
	Playing Time	Cat. N°
	46:03	TE079-2
	Review by / Translated by	Rating
	Jany - Vera / Jennifer	8 - 9,5/10
nederlands	Review
One of the most memorable concerts from the past few months has been, without a doubt, the concert from Novembers Doom. I finally got to see this Chicago band hard at work after several failed attempts to do so. The impression that this band made on me was impressive, to say the least. The singer, Paul Kuhr, had something to do with that and I’m not just talking about his character. Paul has such an unforgettable, fist-clenching and powerful voice. Apart from his sturdy grunts, he can also charm you during the calmer moments in a song. The timbre of his voice has everything that a good singer needs to be lifted to the level of better vocalists… However, I find that their music doesn’t suit their name. There’s not a lot of doom on ‘The Novella Reservoir’. There are a lot more solid, upbeat songs on this CD than doom songs, so it would be better to categorize the band under death metal. The tone is immediately set starting with the first song, “Rain”. It has heavy riffs and solid guitars with enormously powerful vocals and grunts, but also has calm moments with beautiful sounds. This continues throughout the entire album except for “Twilight Innocence”, which is a very beautiful and peaceful ballad. Personally, I would have preferred to hear more of these mellower moments because this is where Paul’s enormous talents really rise to the occasion. ‘The Novella Reservoir’ is a worthy successor to ‘The Pale Haunt Departure’. However, I do wish there was more of a balance between ‘feeling’ and ‘power’. Because Novembers Doom is a very important pre-eminent band for me, I would like to add a few words. I agree with colleague Jany for the most part, ‘The Novella Reservoir’ is a more straight forward vigorous album with an emphasis on the heavy side of the Chicago based band. This implicates that the album seems a bit less compelling then ‘The Pale Haunt Departure’ at first sight, because not that much ‘tristesse’ is shown, less doom indeed. Yet we may not judge this too easy, for my experience is that the album is a grower after more spins. And yes, their specific sound may be familiar in the meantime, but a recognizable album of Novembers Doom remains on a lonely higher level than any regular album of another band. You are a true fan or not. J
Musicians
Paul Kuhr: vocals Larry Roberts: guitars Vito Marchese: guitars Chris Djuricic: bass Joe Nunez: drums, percussion Additional musicians: Ed “Shreddy” B: keyboards
Tracklist
Rain (4:15) The Novella Reservoir (5:22) Drown The Inland Mere (6:00) Twilight Innocence (5:58) The Voice Of Failure (5:51) They Were Left To Die (5:30) Dominate The Human Strain (5:29) Leaving This (7:27)
Discography


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