Where the Old Gods Play Act 1
Dun Ringill
![Dun Ringill - Where the Old Gods Play Act 1 album cover](https://metal-temple.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Dunwich-Tail-Tied-Hearts-album-cover.webp)
From Bandcamp, "Where the Old Gods Play" (Act 1 and 2) are based on a movie script written by Patrik Andersson Winberg and Jonas Granath (teacher in religion and literature). The story, based in Scotland in early 1900, centers around the manipulation of the church with a priest whose secret agenda only reveals itself at the end." The album has seven songs, and "Awakening" is the first. The gentle crash of waves on the shore opens the album, along with bagpipes. From there, harsh vocals and a slow grind take over. It sort of sounds like a combination of Doom Metal with Celtic elements, but is not overly exciting.
"The Parrish" is another slow groove without a lot of dynamism. The low end power they generate is noteworthy, but the music suffers from an overly simplistic sound. "The Devil Wears a Papal Tiara" is a knock against the Catholic church, which is essentially too easy these days. It's yet another slow grind with harsh vocals and some Celtic elements in the music. Again, the music is strong, but lacks a punch of diversity. "Baptised in Fire" sounds similar to the previous songs, and with another slower pace, the album is failing to get off the ground. Although the bluesy elements are noticeable here, so is the lack of variation.
"Nathaniels Hymn" has some light Progressive elements, mostly in the meter shifting. But the band is in a constant fight with the overly simplistic nature of the music which overshadows any of these nice Progressive elements. "Blood of the Lord" has a decent introduction with some gnarly sounds but the cadence of the vocals is, well, odd. The vocalist delivers an impassioned performance in this song, but the music is too elementary once again. "The Last Supper" closes the album. Thick bass notes open the song, but along comes another slower pace. The grey tones in the album are fantastic. But as it stands, the album just isn't exciting enough for me. I get Doom Metal, and it can be plenty exciting, but besides a soulful vocalist, the music of the album just doesn't have enough going for it.
5 / 10
Mediocre
Songwriting
Musicianship
Memorability
Production
![](http://metal-temple.com/wp-content/uploads/ma-gdpr-youtube-thumbnails/bpLDDF8pEaM/bpLDDF8pEaM_mqdefault.jpg)
"Where the Old Gods Play Act 1" Track-listing:
1. Awakening
2. The Parrish
3. The Devil Wears a Papal Tiara
4. Baptised in Fire
5. Nathaniels Hymn
6. Blood of the Lord
7. The Last Supper
Dun Ringill Lineup:
Patrik Andersson Winberg - Bass
Neil Mackay Grant - Drums
Jens Florén - Guitars
Tommy Stegemann - Guitars
Patric Grammann - Guitars
Tomas Eriksson - Vocals
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