Netherlands' CELESTIAL SEASON is a doom band that has recently returned after twenty years with a new album called "The Secret Teachings." I have reviewed that as well and now I am tackling another release from them. "The Merciful" is actually a remastered reissue of two rare demos called 'Promises' from 1991 and another one simply called 'Promo 94' from 1994.  "The Secret Teachings," is an album that I loved so I was excited to get around to reviewing this one as well, especially considering their latest is my first time hearing them.  Will I appreciate their past just as much?  Yes, Yes, I will.

I never heard the originals so I don't have a frame of reference but this compilation sounds good-definitely doesn't come off as a couple old demos.  The sound isn't crystal clear as a layer of roughness hangs over all the songs but that's okay because it is definitely goes with the style. As expected, these songs are more aggressive than "The Secret Teachings," but the overall feel is still the same: the vintage sound mixed with old school and Gothic sensibilities is still present.

The title track, "The Merciful," is also the first song. The first minute or so acts like a built in intro: a slow build up of violin, keys, and even some clean vocals bridges the gap to the doom riffs that kick in around  a minute and a half.  The growls bark out as the band settles into a groove laden doom machine, highlighted by the violin and thunderous bass guitar.  The second song, "Together In Solitude," is much more raw and aggressive with bass that just pops and threatens to explode my headphones.  The mix of anger and sorrow is palpable and makes for an interesting listen.

"Surreal," once again displays the bass taking names while working extremely well with the seemingly random noises and caustic guitar riffs.  The bass gets more and more adventurous as the song goes along, popping in and out of the riffs and growls with apparent ease. Some of the album's best riffs are on "For Eternity," and they pair effectively with the clean keys, each instrument complimenting the other.  This track actually sounds a little creepy and feels horror themed as those keys are haunting and the riffs are sinister as hell.

My favorite track on the album is "Above Azure Oceans," due in no small part to the deliciously melodic riffs and the death growls that ride on top of them.  This track is very Gothic oriented and nails that classic Gothic/doom sound that so many bands did back when this originally came out. The middle portion is weirdly atmospheric but manages to work itself smoothly enough in and out of the song without any interruption to the flow of it all.

My second favorite is the sixth track, "Will You Wait For The Sun," because it too has those nicely balanced melodic metal riffs.  This track is less moody than "Above Azure Oceans," and focuses more on galloping riffs but those Gothic textures are still there in the violin that continues to work in expert level tandem with the guitars. The final track, "The Scent Of Eve," is a twelve minute long epic and it isn't too far removed from what old school MY DYING BRIDE would do or even old school THEATRE OF TRAGEDY.  It is a very melodic track and, coupled that with the spoken word clean that vocals that pop up here and there, it also very Gothic and somber.  The middle portion that is just keys, bass, and violin stands out well has a bridge to the two longer halves.  Likewise, the ambient ending finishes the song perfectly.
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All in all, I really enjoyed my time in the past with this band.  I actually think their new album, "The Secret Teachings" is better but there isn't anything wrong with this collection of near perfect 90's death/doom.