YATRA is a Doom Metal band from Ocean City, Maryland; "Blood of the Night," is their second full length.   This my first experience with the band so I can't compare it to their previous effort.  I can, however, say with full certainty this is a riff lover's wet dream.  If you like riffs, "Blood of the Night," is an album that will give them to you, until you just can't handle anymore.  That is a double-edged sword unfortunately because the album lacks any real variety.  I couldn't find a bad track among the album's eight Doom rockers, but the songs all sound pretty similar and start blend in together by the album's 45 minute run time.

But, as I previously mentioned, every track is solid and if you like the opening track, "Sorcerer," it is a safe bet the others will be equally as enjoyable.  That opening track begins with very little pretense-after brief moments of feedback, the sweltering riffs drop like a guillotine blade.  The sound is rooted in more old school Doom, but the tone is unmistakably evil and modern.  A slow-paced groove settles in with the bass popping up here and there.  The rhythm of the song reaches its zenith with the Blackened vocals, which was a surprise to me considering the more traditional aspects of the music.  However, I was not disappointed—Dana's vocals work extremely well for the band, adding in an extra occult atmosphere.

"The Howling," adds in a tiny bit of speed and a more rock and roll cadence but a lot darker and menacing of course.  The vocals ride alongside the riffs for a Stoner infused vibe, giving the song an unique laid back approach to contrast the darker aspects. The lead guitar provides a certain flair to the proceedings, an element that is also rooted in more old school ways, even a bit blues like but they always fit the tone of the songs and are a welcome addition.  "Three Moons," is a shining example of the leads taking the reins into a near Doom "jam band" type session.

"Surrender," sounds like much more extreme version of BLACK SABBATH.  The riffs contain that Stoner vibe but just much more ominous in their execution-honestly, this song is a little creepy, but I'll be damned if it doesn't just straight up rock balls to the wall. YATRA's "Blood of the Night," is an enjoyable Doom Metal album that does a decent job bringing the original style of the genre into a more modern, extreme path.  I would recommend this to fans who like Doom but have yet to full embrace some of the darker bands—this album would make a great starting point to venture further.