The 11th Hour Netherlands

"Ed Warby is back with another slab of gloomy doom metal in the form of "Lacrima Mortis" - the second album from his The 11th Hour project – and he does not disappoint.

The seven tracks on the album capture the essence of good doom metal: the sense of despair, the heavy atmosphere and the feel of liberating depression. The music is heavy and melancholic, but rather than going completely slow and relying on droning notes, Warby incorporates a lot of heavy riffage into the song on this album, which adds a touch of crushing brutality to the album (bolstered by the supplmental death growls, provided by Pim Blankenstein), and there are even some midtempo parts in 'Tears of the Bereaved', which also features a heart-breaking sample of a woman crying on top of a heavy and melancholic breakdown.

So, this is a heavy and oppressive release, to be sure, and, while there is a lot of riffage, Warby does of course also make plenty of use of slow paces and droning notes (it is a genre-defining feature, after all), and there are also lots of melancholic guitar harmonies, sad leads and melodic guitar solos (just check a track like 'Reunion Illusion') as well as melodic piano parts and some atmospheric keyboards every now and then. As already mentioned, this album features death growls, but the vocals primarily have the form of Warby's clean and expressive voice, which just suits the overall depressive atmosphere perfectly.

Heavy, melancholic, and expressive, "Lacrima Mortis" is the epitome of good doom metal; it is exactly because of releases like this one that I absolutely love doom metal. It is recommended to fans of Warning, My Dying Bride, Candlemass, Solutide Aeturnus, Isole and early Cathedral.

(review originally posted at seaoftranquility.org)"