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Mourning Beloveth - "Dust"

From the land of leprechauns, Guinness, and the great potato famine comes Mourning Beloveth. This ever-toiling band has been at the grindstone for over a decade, forming in late 1992 and finally putting their work to posterity in 1996 with their first demo. Since then, Mourning Beloveth have recorded another demo, "Autumnal Fires", and two albums, "Dust" and "The Sullen Sulcus". This particular album is a reissue of "Dust", a 2001 release, that includes a track from "Autumnal Fires" and a track from "The Sullen Sulcus", gives us the perfect opportunity to look at the evolution of Mourning Beloveth over a period of nearly five years. The good doctor was not disappointed.

The first thing that needs to be stated about the band is that they are a doom metal band. One of the things I have found that plagues the doom metal genre in general is a lack of good production. This stems from the relative lack of attention that the music gets. Doom metal exudes the pageantry that is self-evident in black metal, and the power inherent in death metal, but at one quarter the speed. It is quite dark and depressing, and this scares off a certain element that would enjoy the music. The production quality is very impressive on this particular CD. The instruments are in the correct proportions, and the sound is crystal clear. Doom metal aside, this is a brilliant metal album. It is over seventy-four minutes long, and with the album only containing eight tracks, you as the buyer definitely get your money’s worth.

"Dust" seems to be telling a story. Each successive track weaves its way into the next. Even the two inclusions on this reissue, "It Almost Looked Human" and "Forever Lost Emeralds", fit perfectly into the mix. Mourning Beloveth’s sound is dark and foreboding, almost like the air on a late July evening before a thunderstorm pounds the prairie. There is a sadness about the music that almost begs for empathy, yet tells us that morning will come again after the dark lonely midnight has past. The tempo is slow and deliberate, and each note is accentuated to further implicate the madness that is about to ensue. An interesting thing to note on this album is the use of both death and clear vocalization of the lyrics, but not in the way that most of you are familiar with the emergence of 21st century corporate tools. These Irish lads have pulled off an impressive feat, integrating the deathly screams that personify the pain that doom so tragically imparts, with a clear and noble voice that sometimes overlaps the screams. The riffs are equally powerful on "Dust", and the bass and drums work very well with each other. The intertwining of classical and metal is clearly the calling card of this band. Early in their tenure, Mourning Beloveth turned to the dual guitars, and it really works on "Dust". In fact, it seems at times the guitars are dueling with each other, trying to draw out the very best with the music.

Three tracks exemplify this release. Track eight, "Forever Lost Emeralds", is from their 1998 demo, "Autumnal Fires". The song is deliberate in its make up, but you can definitely see the beginnings of a great band coming together after working so hard for so long. Track three, "Dust", is a fourteen minute and thirty-six second epic voyage that is the title track of the album. It shows everything that Mourning Beloveth has become, and really defines the band as a leader in the doom genre. Finally, track six, "It Almost Looked Human", is a look ahead to their newest release, "The Sullen Sulcus". The evolution to a band at the top of their game is complete. The music is darker, the screams more emboldened, and their outlook is more determined with this song. "The Sullen Sulcus" promises (I can tell you right now that this promise is one that is kept. After hearing this record, I had to go take a listen to "The Sullen Sulcus", and this is an album that you will want to own as well.) to be one of the great doom albums of the year.

There is one thing that kept me from giving this album a top mark. Mourning Beloveth seems to hold back a little something on each song. There is a bit of repetition that is common with the doom genre, but sometimes the band doesn’t take their songs to that final level of greatness. This is a trait that they correct on "The Sullen Sulcus", but since we are talking "Dust", I have to take this into account.

Nevertheless, go out and buy this album. It is a definite must not only for doom metal fans, but metal fans in general. Mourning Beloveth will open your eyes in a way that only "Dust" will impart, and I am sure that after listening to this album, you will want to order "The Sullen Sulcus". Take it from the doctor; Mourning Beloveth is here to stay.