A melding of many genres, KING BAAL attempts to push the boundaries of what a hybrid band can accomplish. Hailing from Portugal, the band is made up of what vocalist Joana Carvalho asserts is "real metalheads" who have a great passion for metal, specifically melodic metal such as symphonic and doom to progressive metal and even traditional heavy metal. The band was formed from the deep friendship going back many years between bassist Joao Amorim and mastermind guitarist and vocalist Narciso Monteiro. Carvalho and drummer Luis Moreira may have only joined the band in the last year but Monteiro assures the "synergy is amazing, it looks like we know each other for 10 years". This may be their first album together but most of the members have had much experience playing with groups. Carvalho is relatively new to the rock and metal world but Amorim has played live with atmospheric black metal band NEVOA, Monteiro played guitar for goth progressive metal band HEYLEL, and Moreira has banged the skins for the likes of IN VEIN, LYFORDEATH, NIHILITY as well as guesting and playing live with death metal group SOTZ'.

But this group would prove different for all the members, pulling from their many different influences and metal loves. Their debut album has a very personal approach to metal, blending many powerful and intense - sometimes extreme - subgenres of metal to try and make something new and unique. If you want operatic vocals like those heard in EPICA and NIGHTWISH, Carvalho provides the hint of female symphonic metal touches. If you want doom, sludge and grunts similar to CANDLEMASS and MY DYING BRIDE, it is surely present in the grungy guitars and vocals provided by Monteiro. But pure heavy metal gusto is also present too. The eight track debut album "Conjurements" is an album of epic proportions, inspired by the writings of King Solomon - though it is unclear if the album is meant to be a concept album or just expresses similar themes among songs.

Personally, with some of my favorite bands being DREAM THEATER, BLACK SABBATH, and METALLICA, KING BAAL hits the sweet spot between them all. What immediately struck me about the majority of the album is how similar it was to early THE GATHERING and then I read an interview in which Monteiro lists them as a major influence. He also mentions progressive rock pioneers KING CRIMSON and their influence is felt strongly on the woefully too short instrumental "Solomon's Arival" in which a major theme gets repeated regularly but the band seems to improvise perfectly around each repetition. There is Gregorian chant and somber violins sections thrown in at various times, giving the album a gothic and medieval feel. "The Grand Judgement" shows their flair for the dramatic, opening with those somber violins before dumping into the droning, crunchy guitars for a short while, then comes up for air with a clean guitar part underneath whispered Latin vocals. But it doesn't stop there and continues back to the doomy bits, double time with growling vocals, building up towards the finale in which the ground falls out beneath you, ending with those unsettling whispered Latin vocals and clean guitar. If you like doom metal with a progressive tendency - think OPETH but even heavier if you can imagine it - but also ventures into classic heavy metal and includes wonderfuly clear operatic female vocals, bow down to KING BAAL.