Album Review: Draconian's Under A Godless Veil

The end of part 3 of my look back at 2020 is today fellow Otaku & Metalheads.

March has been pretty emotionally intense. At the beginning of the month, we looked at the massively bombastic monster that was Doom Eternal, and a few weeks back we beheld the soul-crushing mastery that was Obsidian from Paradise Lost. I conclude this month with a record that’s similar in many respects, but different in a few others. Still dark in some aspects, but surprisingly bright in others. Regardless of it’s differences, today’s album is just as Gothic as Obsidian.....and might be more in some aspects. So, get on your blackest clothes & makeup, grab that book of Gothic Romance stories, and get ready for my review of Draconian’s 2020 hit, Under A Godless Veil. Let’s begin!

Background
Taken from the band’s Bandcamp page:

“And though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death...
Almost five years after their sixth long-player Sovran, DRACONIAN once again cast their breathtaking veil of melancholy over the world. This second full-length release featuring singer Heike Langhans delivers a captivating mélange of dreary doom and contrasty vocals and mixes Heike's angelic female voice with Anders Jakobsson's death growls. The one-hour long album, graced with a haunting cover artwork by Natalia Drepina, is carrying the legacy of gothic doom metal à la My Dying Bride or Trees Of Eternity into the new decade and will drag the listener into a sorrowful cosmos right with the first notes of the spellbinding opener "Sorrow Of Sophia" that interweaves beauty with crippling depression. After crushing slow rhythms and the fragile "Sleepwalkers" that leads through barren soundscapes, the band - founded in Säffle / Sweden in 1994 – rises up to their best in the nine-minute long 'Ascend Into Darkness', which will echo in the listener's ears long after the final chord has died away.”

Basic Description
Tragedy & Beauty.

If Obsidian from Paradise Lost was the dark Yin, then Under A Godless Veil is the lighter Yang. Make no mistake: this record can still hit you in the feels pretty hard. All of the songs on the album are filled to the brim with emotional vocals, instrumentation, and atmosphere that tugs at the heartstrings very intensely. However, what separates this release from the previously mentioned release is the amount of beauty that can be felt. Obsidian could be beautiful in places most definitely, but Under A Godless Veil excels at it. For every note of sadness, there’s a note of love. For every bit of darkness, there’s a bit of light (Though not too much). Under A Godless Veil is a more balanced record when it comes to the emotions it generates, and I think that’s what makes it an easier pill to swallow.

Best Track
Sorrow Of Sophia opens up Under A Godless Veil, and rightfully earns that position! Though it is a little slow in the beginning, and the same time the buildup pours on the Gothic tragedy. Once the metal comes in swinging, it hits you hard when the guitar starts up. From there, the pacing increases ever so slightly, but never loses it’s emotional weight over it entire run time. The guitars & drums are played beautifully, and the vocals from Anders Jacobsson & Lisa Johansson are like Yin and Yang in all the right ways, with the former having a guttural quality that at least once or twice dips into something more calmer, and the later is just soothing from beginning to end, but equally tragic. Coupled with the symphonic elements that play throughout, and you have a song that can be just as sorrowful as some of the most weighty operas out there.

Sorrow Of Sophia (Lyric Video Version)

However, a track that surprised me quite a bit was the one right smack dab in the middle of the album. Burial Fields comes across like a genuine Gothic ballad, and on a record where many tracks are ballad-like that’s saying something. The track is also unusual in that there’s very little in the way of metallic elements: outside of some faint drumming, keyboarding, and sound effects, there’s nothing really metal about this song. Yet, it’s that lack of metal that gives Burial Fields such a sad yet beautiful atmosphere, almost as if it was a Gothic tale being told pure through the music itself. Certainly not a tune you should skip!

Burial Fields

Worst Track
Like I said earlier, Under A Godless Veil punches you in the gut when you least expect it, and pulls at your heartstrings so hard you’d that they might snap under the pressure. However, the more beautiful aspects is what keeps the music from going into the more grim territory like Obsidian did. Because of that balancing act, it makes listening to the entire record far easier than going through all of the previously mentioned record.....even though Obsidian is pretty awesome in it’s own right.

Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, then click on the link below:

Under A Godless Veil

Overall Impression & Rating
Under A Godless Veil is just wonderful. Bleak as it could be, it also could be stunning at the exact same time. As dark as it can be, it has an odd light that could also soothe the heart (After the darker aspects kicked it of course). It’s easier to go through so much more when compared to Obsidian & maybe other Gothic Metal releases from 2020 I didn’t listen to, but it knows that it’s still Goth, and as such it’s not a cakewalk either. If you weren’t a fan of Paradise Lost’s dark litany of songs from 5 years ago, this album will be a more pleasant experience for you.

Under A Godless Veil gets an 8.5 to 9 out of 10.

And that was my review for Under A Godless Veil. Dark & beautiful, it manages to walk a tightrope, and never slips toward either extreme at any point. . So, now we’ve reached no. 2 on my albums from the start of this decade, and things are a bit more fun now. Before that however, we’ve got quite the zoo to explore, so see me tomorrow for an anime review that’s primal. Until then take care!

Album Review: Paradise Lost's Obsidian

We’ve made it to no. 3 fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

Somehow, we’re still here. I don’t known how we’re all standing despite the raping that certain people in power are doing, but we are all here. It’s definitely something.....that’s for sure.

Anyways, 2020 had plenty of great Gothic releases. From re-releases of iconic albums, to new records that continue to bring the vibes of Autumn, gothic romance, and tragedy, it’s obvious that the sub-genre is here to stay despite what the haters say. Two releases in that year were particularly fantastic, and I’m looking at one of them today. The band in question is actually not a stranger around these parts, as I’ve been listening to them for over 12 years at this point in my life, and at the end of this year they’ve been on my blog for a full decade. So, put on your darkest clothes, turn off almost all the lights in the room, and get ready for my review of Paradise Lost’s darkly emotional behemoth Obsidian. Let’s begin.

Background
With Medusa in the rear-view mirror, the band set their sights to the future. In 2017, they celebrated 30 years of being a band together, celebrating with a tour through the UK and Europe, including a gig in their hometown of Halifax, as well as a South & North American tour with Solstafir and The Atlas Moth. On top of that, in the same year they re-released & remastered both Host & Believe In Nothing after changing their opinion on both records some years prior (Read Here). In 2019, an official biography called No Celebration: The Official Story of Paradise Lost was released (With an expanded edition in 2022), and then 2020 rolled around.....

With plans for a tour in shambles due to The Plague covering the whole world, the lone thing that everybody could do was to go into the studio, put their noses to the grindstone, and put out the next album. Announced in March of 2020, Nuclear Blast Records stated that the name of the incoming release was Obsidian, and it would come out on the 15th of May. As lead singer Nick Holmes said:

“One of the most eclectic albums we have done in some time, we have miserable songs, sad songs, slow songs and faster songs. Did I mention miserable?”

Paradise Lost actually weren’t sure IF they were going to release Obsidian in 2020. In a few interviews they stated that because there weren’t any venues open at the time, the album might not be reached by many people. On top of that, Nick Holmes warned people that the music was especially bleak this go around, and that might turn some people off. However, they ultimately came to the decision that it was best that the record should be released, on account of people needing music during the quarantine (Correct me if that wasn’t the case).

Basic Description
A Genuine Soul Crusher & A Return To Their Roots.

Let me get this out of the way immediately: Obsidian is not a happy album. Sure, throughout their career Paradise Lost have crafted some pretty serious records in the Gothic Metal genre (Among others), but there was always.....something on those releases that stood out. Some little sliver of light that always guided the listener through the experience, and come out of the other side. Not so with Obsidian. This output is incredibly hopeless, bleak, and as I said above, genuinely soul crushing. Given the time that this came out it’s not exactly a surprise, but even if it didn’t come out in 2020, it still would be the darkest record of the band’s career. The dark nature of the music on here practically sticks to your body, and stays stuck on for a while after you’re done listening to it. They’re been plenty of darker records I’ve listened to that sent chills through me, but none of them ever affected me like Obsidian did.

However, if you are willing to wade through the bleakness of Obsidian, you’ll find it to be one of the band’s most Gothic releases in nearly a decade at that time. The Plague Within was a wonderful return to their Death-Doom origins, but it didn’t really do anything different when compared to the beginning of their career (Save for the vastly improved recording & production). Medusa, on the other hand, was a fantastic Doom Metal album, but it wasn’t necessarily that much different than anything else in the sub-genre. With Obsidian, you get a full-blown Gothic Metal return, but with some small hints of Death-Doom thrown in to add some variety. It almost felt like whiplash listening to this record for the very first time, and it was probably the same thing that some fans experienced as well. A return to Gothic Metal after nearly a decade was really surprising.....but it was a welcome one.

Best Track
In part 3 of my overview on the band, I originally stated that Hope Dies Young was not just the best track of Obsidian, but was my favorite track as well. I still stand by what I said about it being my favorite song, what with it’s highly Gothic atmosphere that echoes some of their earliest work. However, my opinions have changed to what the best track of the record is, and it has become the album’s opener, Darker Thoughts. It rightfully deserves to open the release, as it shows the listener that Paradise Lost has re-embraced their Gothic Metal roots. Nick Holmes at times still uses a bit of his Death Doom guttural vocals, but brings back his longtime Gothic singing with force. The instrumentation was fantastic, as it sounds very much like a refined track off of Draconian Times, and helped with modern recording & production technology. As one of only 2 singles & music videos released during that time, it had some big shoes to fill, but it easily managed to grab any fan’s attention with ease.

Darker Thoughts

Worst Track
I stated this when I did part 3 of my overview of the band back on Halloween 2020, but Obsidian is the bleakest record that Paradise Lost have ever released to the public (IX from the side project Host comes close in places). Now, even casual fans of the group will tell you that they’ve never been a sunshine & rainbows kind of band, and virtually every single album prior to Obsidian is dark with threads of beauty sewn into it. Somehow, Nick Holmes & the rest of the gang managed to craft a CD that eclipses everything before it in terms of how genuinely bleak & soul-crushing it is. Somehow, Paradise Lost put out a record that sticks with you in all the wrong ways. If you have the lead singer warn you that the album is going to be a soul crusher, then heed their words. If you’re a warm & fuzzy kind of person, then Obsidian is the strongest Kryptonite you’ll ever come across. You gotta be in the right mindset when it comes to listening to Obsidian from beginning to end, and even when it comes to individual tracks you have to have the right mood, though it is easier in that regard.

If I even wanted to have a Dishonorable Mention when it comes to Obsidian, I would have to give that dubious award to the bonus tracks on the Deluxe Edition of the album. Hear The Night & Defiler are actually great tracks, but they completely disrupt the otherwise great flow of the album. This is especially obvious when you consider that both of them play right after Ravenghast, which is a damn fine way to close out an album, as the two songs completely change the record’s pacing. Again, these two tunes are just as good as everything else on the release, but were placed in the most incorrect spot on the album.

Hear The Night

Defiler

One other thing: I sent this to a friend of mine who’s a fan of morally grey/dark media back in 2020, and even he said this was rough to listen to. Considering some of the things he likes, that surprised me!

Other
If you’re curious about listening to this album, click on the link below:

Obsidian

Overall Impression & Rating
Obsidian came out at a time where it’s darkness was enhanced by a once-in-a-century plague had swept the earth, and we were all isolated in order for said plague to not kill us. It’s bleakness is unlike anything that Paradise Lost has ever done in their entire career, but at the same time it marked a return to what got them so popular in the first place. If the band stays within the Gothic Metal lane until their retirement, then they’ll be raking in the cash, and even if they don’t, we got albums like Obsidian to remind us of where they came from.

Obsidian gets an 8.5 out of 10, but it’s dark nature might have listeners take the score down by a point.

And that was my review for Obsidian. Despite the incredibly dark nature of the music, it’s perhaps the best record that the band has done since 2012. With how things are in the world right now, perhaps it’s bleakness matches things better now than it did half a decade ago. However, there wasn’t just one Gothic Metal masterpiece released in 2020, so see you all around the end of the month for a look at that monster. Until then, take care!



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If you’d like to read an interview with Nick Holmes from 2020, then click on the link below:

Paradise Lost Vocalist Nick Holmes on Doom, Dirge, "Obsidian," and Horror (Interview)

Game Review: Doom Eternal

There’s a new Doom game coming fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

That’s right! For anyone that has been living under a gaming rock, we’ve got The Dark Ages coming in May on the 13th, so what better time to take a look at I.D. Software’s beastly release from 2020. Released just in time for the world to be blanketed by a horrific plague, none the less FPS fans still managed to coat our planet Earth in copious amount of demon gore & viscera, and the bodies continue to be piled up to this day! Before we take a look at the origins of the Slayer, let’s take a look at his return to Earth. So sit back, grab your shotgun, and take a look at my review for Doom: Eternal. Let’s begin!

Story
Taken from Wikipedia:

“In 2163, fourteen years after the events on Mars, Earth has been overrun by demons, wiping out 60% of the planet's population. The Union Aerospace Corporation (UAC) has been fully corrupted into a demonic cult. What remains of humanity has either fled Earth or joined the Armored Response Coalition (ARC) resistance movement. The Doom Slayer, having previously been betrayed by Dr. Samuel Hayden, returns with a satellite fortress controlled by the AI VEGA to quell the demonic invasion by killing the Hell Priests: Deags Nilox, Ranak, and Grav. The priests serve an angelic being known as the Khan Maykr, who seeks to sacrifice mankind for her own race's survival. The Slayer teleports to Earth and kills Deag Nilox, but the Khan Maykr transports the two remaining priests to unknown locations.”

That is just one part on Wikipedia, and without giving things away, there is far more going on in this game than one realizes. Because of all of the various pieces of lore, it establishes that the universe of Doom is far deeper than it’s ever been, and further builds upon what began in 2016. John Carmack said back in the day that story in a shooter is like story in a porn: yeah it’s there, but you’re not experiencing the medium for it. In many old school shooters, and some of the modern day Boomer Shooters that’s definitely true, but somehow giving Doom a deeper world than what the bare bones nature of his time in the 90s (With maybe the exception of Doom 64). Speaking of a deeper world......

Setting
A huge plus in Eternal’s favor would be it’s various locales. Doom 2016 for all of it’s badassery,  tended to repeat a lot of areas across the entire game, almost making it feel bizarrely like Serious Sam in that regard. Not so with 2020's out, as there are so many more places to explore & fight in. You’ve got your base of operations known as the Fortress of Doom (More on that in a bit), and you do go back to Earth and Hell a couple times, but there are also numerous other alien worlds that have the stench of demons and the Makyrs all over them, and you even go back to Mars in one level. There is so much more variety in terms of how the levels look, what with the enhanced graphics from Eternal’s usage of ID Tech 7, not to mention the increased amount of detail because of the graphics engine used. Because of that, all of the places you visit makes the whole experience come across like Serious Sam 2 weirdly enough.

Characters
One advantage that Doom: Eternal has over it’s predecessor would be the expanded cast of characters, but only just expanded. The game still is centered fully on the Doom Slayer, and in his second outing he’s more expressive. His eyes show every emotion & feeling he’s experiencing, and his physical movements in the cutscenes give the impression that he is a behemoth on the battlefield, but the few quieter parts shows that he is capable of listening & thinking. Outside of the Slayer, the only character from the prior game to make an appearance is Dr. Samuel Hayden, but his role isn’t quiet as significant as it was in 2016. Our antagonists is of course Hell and the 3 main Hell Priests, and in a curious turn, the Khan Makyr of Urdak (The Doom Universe’s equivalent of Heaven). Both characters Samuel & the Khan Makyr have a few surprises, but no spoilers! Outside of the tiny main cast, there’s a few NPCs that we encounter, but have practically no time to get to know them.

Gameplay
For the most part, Eternal’s base gameplay isn’t that much different than what was established in 2016; run, gun, rip & tear, look for secrets & collectables, etc. The Doom Slayer’s second outing at it’s most basic doesn’t try to differentiate what made ID’s return so great last decade.....but there’s also so much more going on here!

For starters, there is the Fortress Of Doom. The base & home of the Slayers, you can find all sorts of things here. From ARC recordings, to unlockables for your suit & equipment, weapons, alternate skins, weapons & art galleries, and even access to all of the music you find in various secrets throughout the game. On top of that, there the Ripatorium (Demon Prison) where you can practice killing hellspawn to your heart’s content, and in your personal room there’s even a computer that let you play a full copy of Doom 2! All of this just adds more flavor to Doomguy’s character, and helps build the world of Eternal in a surprising amount of ways.

Next up are the levels. Compared to what we had in 2016, the levels of Eternal are larger, more complex in design (The later levels especially), and more involved when it comes to interactivity. On top of that, the secrets are placed a bit better, and it takes a little more thinking to find some of them. Without saying too much, there’s one secret towards the end of the game that requires some pretty good timing & being good at spotting things out of the ordinary. Perhaps the best thing about each & every one of the levels you play through also helps tell the story in addition to the lore you find. It’s subtle, but each one shows off how bleak & dire the world of Eternal is, yet also shows the sense of wonder the more fantastical locales are. Definitely a plus!

Next improvement over 2016 would be it’s combat. Now, Doom 2016's combat was good. Damn good, in fact! It felt refreshing at the time when compared to most of the Modern Military titles at the time: you ran around at 90 miles an hour, ripping & tearing every living demon like a crazy person. Within Eternal, you still run around like a loon, but now there is more rhythm & flow when you compare it to 2016. Many of the enemies have weak points on their body that, if destroyed, disable a specific attack they use. On top of that, there is a boss or two that you can only attack at just the right time. Sure, those moments are telegraphed, but you do see them coming. This also applies to one VERY specific boss that becomes an enemy half-way through, but not spoilers for anyone that’s reading this for the first time!

If there’s anything negative about Eternal’s gameplay, and even then it’s only for those that aren’t a fan of it, it would be the increased platforming & jumping, along with the Extra Life system. When Doom came back in 2016, you were definitely jumping around & grabbing ledges (Especially once you got the Jump Boots), but Eternal turns the knob up to 11 in that aspect. There are parts in every level where you’ve got platforming of some kind, and it’s incredibly frustrating in the first level where you don’t even have the ability to dash yet! Once you got the ability to dash things let up a little, but even then it’s insane at how much is there! The Extra Life system isn’t as bad as I’m making it sound, as they’re fairly plentiful, and you can build up enough of a supply that dying a bunch of times isn’t painful. Trouble does crop up in the DLCs when it comes to the extra lives, as they’re spread out a bit more thinly, and because of that you gotta be a bit more careful when it comes to dying. The more console-ification of Eternal definitely did rub some players the wrong way (Definitely rubbed my Dad the wrong way), but it not really bad once you understand the flow of everything.

Graphics & Sound
ID Software hit it out of the park with ID Tech 6, and they did it again with no. 7. Things looks a little smoother, environments are more varied, there’s a wider usage of color, and all of the enemies & NPCs move more fluidly than in Doom 2016 (Even though they moved nicely in that game). Everywhere you go to is so much more striking than what was in 2016, to the point where it feels like the transition from Serious Sam to Serious Sam 2. Soundwise things are still fantastic! Your guns still sound like beasts, the demons sound more monstrous than before, and the soundtrack by Mick Gordon is even more metal than ever! Definitely a step up from the year prior.....even though the graphics & sound in 2016 were pretty sweet in it’s own right.

Overall & Rating
Doom: Eternal was a meteor that came crashing down in 2020. More visceral combat & gameplay, more locales, more story, and even more characters all came together, and the end result was a sword that can pierce the heavens! Maybe the more console elements did ruin the experience for some, but to me they added some extra spice to what was already a tasty dish when Doom came back in 2016. I’ve played through this game a few times, and each time it was nothing short of fantastic. If you’ve got the time before the new game comes out, give Eternal one last go through before the new game comes out. You won’t regret it!

Doom: Eternal gets a 10 out of 10.

And that was my review for Doom: Eternal. It was fun to look at this colossus of a game again, especially with The Dark Ages coming in May, and it still holds up half a decade later! So everyone, I will see you all in the middle of this month, when I’ll be reviewing the darkest Paradise Lost album that was ever recorded. Until then, take care!


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If you’d like to see a walkthrough of the game, click on the link below:

Doom Eternal 100% Longplay Walkthrough (Nightmare, No Commentary)