Viewing the label behind this album together with their name your mind goes instantly to what style is hidden behind this well-shaped cover. Doomy, slow and depressive Metal, fitting perfect to all the tortured souls of this planet. It's one man's project with Johan Ericson playing anything and except this having diligence of the artwork together with the producing. A recording that was done in the DRACONIAN studios 'cause he is also the guitarist of these Swedish warriors. Of course when you hear this name you are thinking of tragic combinations of vocals a la a beast that is haunting a virgin in the forest with purpose its sexual pleasure, musical anomalies like unbelievable jokes (see THEATRE OF TRAGEDY and the rest). OK, DRACONIAN are not so horrible, at least they have a style and surely DOOM:VS are much better than the previous, by playing a more serious music.
Johan started this project around 2004, having in mind the creation of as possible dark and pessimistic thing it can be. December of the same year saw the first songs, a demo containing four of them named Empire Of The Fallen; inside it we find vocals by Daniel Arvidsson from DRACONIAN. This demo unlocked the gates for a record company contract and in July of 2006 the debut was out, under the pessimistic title Aeternum Vale, including three of the previous demo songs. Not such a good record, in many moments looks uninspiring unorthodox placed melodic yet 'commercial' passages but in the end you can say it's not a miss made.
In the beginning of 2008, Johan started creating the second one and with the first listening I believe that it is not only better than the previous but also more convincing for its purposes. The recipe is quite simple but actively working. What I mean is that we have a structure of three cool riffs that will reach a refrain of clean vocals enriched with melodies and then repeating. This is working well enough for the three first tracks, which are combining feelings of despair, mourning, darkness and an absentia of hope. It seems like a severe criticism of personality, a zero tolerance for the human form and life upon this planet. The resolution is not so nihilistic or as intense as the words I used but the whole project is on a good road avoiding risibility.
Upon The Cataract will continue in the same previous patterns, although here the 'refrain' of clean vocals is not so well written. The influences are mostly coming from MOURNING BELOVETH, SATURNUS, KATATONIA and the titans MY DYING BRIDE. The last band can easily be 'distinguished' inside Leaden Winged Burden, looking more than a tribute but being good. Everything will be 'doomed' when the listener step forward the last one Threnody. Here you will be tested for your patience and for your capability in staying awake while you'll hear it. Completely boring, looks like a filler, around the sixth minute and after you are praying for this suffer to end, mad at this 'wanna be' bad psychic disposal of the artist behind waiting maybe he will commit suicide and this torment will disappear. Musical tantalization is common when you are listening cliche things inside the Doom genre. Although it seems easy to be played, Doom like Black Metal or Noise demands full devotion and when this is missing it's turning to shit.
Being not something special, this album can keep company to some of you if you hear it in deep blue moments. More personality is needed, the avoiding of commercial things inside, and - who knows? - maybe this project will offer us something real good in the future.