I have been following this Portland, Oregon band’s path on an online music platform. Following a few raw releases ‘The Exterminating Angel’ is in my mind a warped doom vision! Perplexing reality with hints of thunderous doom riffs right out of the Reverend Bizarre repertoire, to the oddball mysticism of many experimental doom artists.

From the opening track ‘Unholy Resurrection’ you get a monster guitar tone and subsequent dynamics. Further through the release this is subdued in favour of many more acoustic variations, for which I am not that favourable towards if I am honest. Whilst I appreciate the experimental stance and approach, I miss the regular distorted hammering that exists in select places. The vocals are a touch oddball, very much a mix of the aforementioned band and say Death SS. Whilst I wouldn’t say I dislike anything I hear here, I don’t necessarily feel an affliction to the material either. For me, it’s a bit too far “out there” for me! That said, delve into the closer ‘The Way of All Flesh’ and you may here a doom variant, or similar pattern to a bridge in a famous Savatage track (I’m not going to name it, have a listen, see if you agree!).

With the lack of sustain from the acoustic variations, there is a trick missed for me, and for that reason I find this playable, but not that repeatable. This changes of course based on your mood, mine especially, so is that a touch of creative genius? I would recommend making your own opinion. On the plus side, Purification have a niche all to themselves that’s seldom replicated under the “doom” banner. So for that, I find this unique.

(6.5/10 Paul Maddison)

https://www.facebook.com/Purification-Doom-Metal-2254778141219307

https://purificationdoom.bandcamp.com/album/the-exterminating-angel