More than thirty years on from their Melancholy debut album, Spain's premier exponents of gargantuan, emotive, Melodic Doom/Death Metal GOLGOTHA are still forging ahead, redefining their style and creating albums of remarkable power, passion and depth. After the resounding triumph their last album, the band's onward and upward trajectory shows no signs of slowing as they are already set to release their new, seventh full length album, "Hubris." Far from a carbon copy of its illustrious predecessor, "Hubris" is made of rawer, darker stuff. Drawing on the personal struggles and intimate tragedies of everyday lives, "Hubris" is unflinching in its presentation. The past is gone and the band have described "Hubris" as a very important chapter that truly reflects who we are today.

The album has eight tracks, and "A Simple Life" is first. It enters slowly, with somber clean vocals that are just a bit pitchy at times. A powerful riff follows, and the guttural harsh vocals are very well executed. They have the distinct smell of decay and death to them. "The Weight of the Weak" is cavernous and aggressive, but again, the clean vocals are just a hair off key at times. I hate being "that guy," but I would feel remiss in not noting it. They are plenty cold however, and he has a nice vibrato, but the harsh vocals just fit the heavy weight of the music better. "Broken Toy" features deep gutturals from the start, and I get the image of an Ent (LOTR) speaking. The clean vocals are sung without much emotion, and that reflects the somber weight of the music.

"Empty Minds" is another that's deeply aggressive out of the gate, and the slow pace allows the sound to really sink in, and chill your bones. At this point in the album, you have a full grasp of the sound, and it doesn't sound like it's changing much. "Too Late" is an even slower grind of guttural death metal vocals, and there are some great lead breaks. "Fire in the Shadows" reflects the fierceness and darkness of the title. It moves with power, confidence, and is unshaken by the army attacking it from all angles. "Intolerance" is the final offering, and it's another doomy, gloomy, and slow mover, capitalizing on somber feelings. "I wasn't born to be perfect," she declares

When you have been able to survive as long as GOLGATHA (the sacred site located immediately outside the ancient walls of Jerusalem where Jesus Christ was crucified) have, you didn't get there without the support of your fans. So, 30+ years into the journey, you don't want to do a 180 and then your fans begin to question you. They took the safer route, and I understand why, but this was a predictable sound for me. It was good, but could have been better.