Back in the good old normal days of 2019, members from Church Of Void and Septic Ape got together. The result? FIMIR – doom metal, Finnish style. “Tomb Of God” is the debut LP from the frozen realms of their homeland. Buckle up…
The lone chime of a bell (we’ve been here before), bass and a huge swinging riff introduces “One Eyed Beast”. Clean vocals full of drama combine to make this proper doom from the off. This really is old school with shades of Candlemass followed by a wall of feedback on “Horde Of Crows” as it blasts into a head banging rager. This is massive, pure heavy metal covered in a Saint Vitus styled crust with driving, fuzzy riffs. A sweet, melodic guitar break keeps the drive and the vocals get a little bit of a nasty growl injected into the mix just to keep you honest.
A sense of epic grandeur comes in on “White Wolf” which slowly builds before a bit of a giddy up gets the heart rate going. Lead guitar floats over an ear worm of a riff before the bass driven “Obsidian Giant”. Rubbery and insistent, it drives the track with a fuzzy Dave Chandler style riff buzzing around as it eventually morphs into a space rocker groove towards the end. Some unashamed Sabbath worship on “Temple Of Madness” is no shame as the vocals come in like an ancient ritualistic chant over a proper groove. There’s no sense of the overblown or self-indulgent here. “Mausoleum Craft” is the closing track with an opening riff that sounds like a revving motorcycle and is heads down driving doom metal. There’s a theatrically to the vocal delivery that adds a sense of occult infused drama that may seem a little kitschy but still brings a smile to your face.
Hells bells…this is a banger of an album. There’s no added fluff or wayward meanderings on this debut. To be honest there’s also nothing incredibly new but, damn it, it’s just good! I got the file for review but bugger it, I’m grabbing a physical copy for the collection. Fans of good old doomy heavy metal….go listen.
(9/10 Johnny Zed)
Leave a Reply