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Mourning Beloveth 'The Sullen Sulcus'

One thing that is really comforting for fans of Doom Metal - nearly every band that sincerely makes a conscientious effort to contribute to this genre of music is successful. That is not to say that there aren't some disappointing bands out there masquerading as Doom, but truthfully, there are basically either the serious bands or the wannabes, and the distinction between the two is immediately recognizable. Nearly every serious Doom band I have ever heard I have liked and would recommend to any music fan that seeks to be overwhelmed by emotion in music. I admit my bias - I can't help but respond to the density, macabre romanticism, and misery apparent in this music. Very little else dares to plunder such artistic depths of human discontent. And that is why out of all current music being released today, I am excited and moved the most by Doom bands. With all that said, allow me to introduce our readers to Mourning Beloveth, the latest band to join the ranks of other elite Doom masters that continue to make dark music history.

Mourning Beloveth hail from Ireland, and My Sullen Sulcus is the second full-length release by the band, which continues to explore the same somber themes of their critically acclaimed debut Dust from 2001. Initially plagued with comparisons to My Dying Bride, the band has attempted to carve their own niche in the scene, and with this release, I believe they definitely have succeeded in setting themselves apart from other bands. On this release at least, the only real similarity to MDB that I picked up on was the mix of the album, which can be expected since Mourning Beloveth entered Academy studios and recruited longtime MBD producer Mags to engineer the album. The guitars possess the same signature warmth and are mixed in the forefront, much like some of MDB's classic releases.

While Mourning Beloveth boasts the expectant characteristics of Doom, the effect of the music presented on this disc is a bit less immediate than most bands. I usually have an instant reaction to this kind of music. While my reaction to their music was certainly positive, it took several successive listens for me to fully grasp what they're doing and come to love them as much as some of my other favourite Doom bands. Mourning Beloveth does not simply wear their black hearts on their sleeves. The melancholy vulnerability is certainly there, however, their music is more dense, perhaps more depressive in its stark uniformity. They do not use any keyboards, but rather rely solely upon the guitars, vocals, and rhythmic structures to create atmosphere. They seem to attempt to distract from the usual romantic elements, even in lyrical content. Their song titles hint of more horrific content than most, steeped more so in torment and damnation than the accustomed lovelorn subjects of bands like My Dying Bride or early Anathema. The guitar melodies are colder and more detached than most. The guttural vocals are perhaps the band's one weakness, in that they are somewhat inexpressive and flat. They suit the music well, but if guttural vocals of this kind were the only style that the band were to offer, a great bit of this album's charm would be lost.

It is without question the clean vocals that really set Mourning Beloveth apart, most especially on the third and fourth tracks of the album. Though a few passages appear early in the album, they are not as remarkable as the ones that appear later. In fact, truthfully, the band only really begins to shine on "The Insolent Caul." The primary twin guitar harmonies are stronger, more melodic, darker, and much more poignant in tone and expressiveness. Equally as enchanting is the songs climax, where an epic, galloping dose of stronger rhythms appear, rumbling hypnotically beneath pensive and delightfully gloomy lead guitar passages. But it is the moment when the clean vocals are introduced about three minutes into the song that one can truly comprehend Mourning Beloveth's unique authority. I just stopped dead in awe and listened to the buoyant ebb and swell of these heartfelt vocals. Not only is the singing itself magnificent on a technical level, but the melody is exceptionally evocative, moving, and deeply depressive. His voice rises to hopeful heights and sinks to disenchanted lows, an entire spectrum of emotion in one single vocal line. It's truly that amazing. While the contrast of clean and guttural vocals is surely nothing new, I am not sure I have ever heard such colourful, impassioned clean vocals in a band like this before. And of course, Mourning Beloveth is wise enough not to exhaust such a wonderful thing, for there is only a few other similar vocal arrangements on the album about halfway through the brooding march of "Narcissistic Funeral" and toward the middle of the title track. But I can't help but wonder if perhaps they could have been a bit more liberal with this style, since these few parts are the album's most distinctive highlights that will surely strike fans.

The vocals though are not the only thing will bring joy (or welcomed misery) to Doom fans. Once Mourning Beloveth warms up and the listener warms up to them, the album begins to unfold and yields an inexhaustible amount of rhythmic and harmonic highlights. The title track lurches along, as the hefty guitar chords climb higher and higher, threatening to burst into a new perhaps faster explosion of bleak melody, but instead they plunge back into an abyss of restless yearning. You get lost in the veritable maze of chords winding through this song. At last, the track segues into a murky arrangement of chiming arpeggios and a poignant duet between soaring clean vocals and tortured growls of defeat and rage.

Though it takes a few tracks to really get to the core of Mourning Beloveth' s genius, I can't imagine Doom fans being disappointed with any aspect of this release. It will be interesting to see what this outfit's next release contributes to the genre, for I sense greater things to come from this Irish quintet. In the meantime, fans of dreary Doom should not hesitate to add My Sullen Sulcus to their record collection.

Matthew Heilman