Ahh, doom as it was meant to be – for me, at least. Cold, hard mournful guitars longing for an ancient Dionisyan (who am I to argue with the spelling?) decadence that has long since deserted this world. Ok, that obviously depends on your point of view (and whether you are an overpaid banker or a Russian Oligarch) but I’m not going to debate the point here. Land of Dreams is essentially two tracks and with two additional scene setting instrumentals but it still, in that short time, manages to evoke something of the rawness of the old days. My first thoughts are to early Candlemass but that’s really just for the guitars. The vocals are of the deep growling variety rather than the more penetrable, clean variety, so make for an altogether different experience and lean more towards the early 1990s doom death bands like Katatonia.
This demo is the project of Palermo metal all-rounder Tregor Russo, the man behind Sortilegium and Gates of Eden and who takes on all points in the studio with the exception of the vocals. Music like this really needs a good 45 minutes to get you soaked in the sepia half-light of gods that have either long since deserted us or no longer feel we are worthy of their attention. But the elements are mostly packed in to the time available and so manages to tower above the sum of it parts.
I assume the unusual spelling is to differentiate from previous metal bands (and other genres) of the same name. Bacchus is obviously the native Italian incarnation so who’s arguing (well, I suppose I am aren’t I since I keep going on about it). The music is pretty low-fi but, as usual when that is done well, it just makes its even more effective that an over-produced keyboard fest when all the work is done for you rather than letting your brain and imagination do some of the work. The melancholy intervals and hint of synths in the main songs show a restraint that is both unusual and admirable in the doom genre. It all adds to the feeling of stark abandonment. Death-soaked doom metal has a new, dark underground pretender and this is, all in all, a good start for the band even though it is almost annoyingly brief. Here’s looking forward to the next release. Let’s make it three tracks at least!
(7/10 Reverend Darkstanley)
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