Worship - Dooom : Album Review

It's not often that a band manages to create a true sense of despair, melancholy and depression, but that changed when, "Fucked Up Mad" Max Varnier (R.I.P. 2001) from France and Daniel "The Doommonger" from Germany formed Worship in 1999. After their highly acclaimed demo "Last Tape Before Doomsday", Max committed suicide, but Worship lived on, carrying forward the legacy of Max Varnier's bitter, depressed soul and released Dooom in 2007. Just like the debut, Dooom encompasses a sense of extreme negativity, depression and hopelessness.

The cult album begins with Endzeit Elegy, and the first hit of the heavy, crushing riff shows The Doommonger's capability of carrying Worship through even after the tragic loss of Mad Max, and that he has not lost his creative capabilities. The atmosphere evoked is paralyzing and absorbs you in the flow of depressive and heavy riffs. The combination of what sounds like a church bell and the powerful, crushing guitars is amazing. The riffage is also coupled with mournful lead guitars scattered almost throughout the whole album, adding a sense of despair, and also making it effectively different from Last Tape Before Doomsday. The melodies created by the lead guitar are devoid of cheesiness, yet sound depressive. The vocals are done mainly by The Doommonger, but the album also features vocals from Mad Max, recorded much before his death, on the tracks The Altar and the Choir of the Moonkult, a Solitude Aeturnus cover and I Am the End - Crucifixion Part II. Both vocalists have a similar, low, rumbling style, though Max sometimes executes screams that are often heard in Depressive Black Metal. The bass guitar is an important instrument here, since it is a Funeral Doom Metal album. Apart from adding to the general heaviness, the bass does some wonderful parts on this album. For example, the bass intro to The Altar and the Choir of the Moonkult is eerie to say the least. The drums are played in a typical Funeral Doom fashion. Slow, playing a beat every second or two, and generally drowned in the background. They do absolutely nothing, except the job of holding the riffs together, but that is okay, since the genre doesn't demand drums. Worship does a wonderful job of creating a captivating atmosphere with the minimal use of synth, and the best use of lead guitars, and wonderful vocal delivery, which includes grunts, screams and whispered and sometimes sung narration. Dooom also includes a cover of Solitude Aeturnus's Mirror of Sorrow, done in their own, slow, plodding, depressive and atmospheric style, and is probably one of the best cover songs.

Dooom, although does not match up to Last Tape Before Doomsday, almost misses out on the quality of it by inches. Meaning, it is almost as good, but might leave Worship fans asking for more, since most songs sound too similar. Regardless of that, every song has moments that make it stand out from the others, and most of all, it is an album capable of actually stirring up the listener's emotions in a very powerful way, which is saying a lot. Dooom is recommended for fans of Funeral Doom Metal, since this is one of the only bands you will ever need.

Standout Tracks - All I Ever Knew Lie Dead, The Altar and The Choir of The Moonkult, Mirror of Sorrow, I am The End - Crucifixion Part II