CAPILLA ARDIENTE is a doom/heavy metal band from Chile, who formed in 2006. Their latest release, “Where Gods Live and Men Die,” is their third full-length album; They have also released an EP and a split. This album contains four songs and still manages to be just over 45 mins in length. If that isn't epic, then I don't know what is. Of course, “epc” is a word that gets thrown around a lot and I'm just as guilty as anyone. However, the term certainly fits “Where Gods Live and Men Die.” Each song is sprawling with a ton of different moving parts. This is doom but it's certainly not the same riff over and over. It so incorporates faster, more traditional metal parts. It's a good starting place for fans new to either genre but will satisfy hard-core fans of both.The idea of doom taking a more adventurous route that consists of many different paths is appealing. Thankfully, the band makes the entire experience fun.

“Envenomed” opens the album, bringing a twelve minute opus to the ears first. That’s a bold move but it’s a bold song. Within seconds, it’s already exciting, melodic, and quickly gets to the point. The snare drums help build up the momentum, opening a pathway for the melodic guitars/bass to crush their way though. I really like the vocals–clean, clear, emotional, and powerful. The chorus is catchy, an aspect that certainly doesn’t hurt, especially in a song this long. After the 8 minute mark, the bass and guitar tones turn deadly and transform into 100% doom metal. It’s beautiful. “The Hands of Fate Around My Neck,” begins more immediately, opening with a flavorful guitar solo. The song almost has a power metal feel to it....power doom? But the lead guitar is extremely impressive but every note makes sense in context of the notes around it. The song hits pretty hard, it all leading to a blazing solo just after the halfway mark. Afterwards, the bass gets so low it could probably level mountains. The sudden aggressive turn near the end is a nice touch and induced a lot of head banging.

“Now Here, Nowhere,” begins with interesting drumming with a different style that I don’t hear too often in this genre. The riffs have a classic approach, riding the line between heavy and melodic. There is a bit of a melodic death feel to some of the riffs, which I appreciate, but the real MVP of the song is the bass. Later, the song pulls back with an atmospheric part consisting of awesome vocal harmonies before sliding into a melodic passage. The final song, “As I Lie On The Summit” is the shortest song on the album but certainly one of the best. The parts where the vocals rips over the melodic guitar are some of the best moments on the album and earns the “epic” description and then some. The song grows dark for a minute, then turns more aggressive. The drums are very effective here. The last few minutes are low, slow, hard, and heavy.

All in all, CAILLA ARDIENTE’s “Where Gods Live and Men Die,” is another win for the heavy underground scene of South America–and for anyone who likes melodic doom/heavy metal.