Ever since the birth of doom metal, it, along with its several derivative styles, has become increasingly exaggerated in its definitive qualities. Turtle paced tempos have slowed to the speed of a crippled snail, guitar tunings have dropped into bass frequencies and what were once allusions to marijuana and the occult have developed into more than just lyrical overtones. While there is nothing wrong with these developments (they have resulted in some truly wonderful music over the years), it can be refreshing to hear a doom band go against the genre's tides and return to doom's past, where classic metal and the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal were still very important ingredients in the witchy brew of doom metal. On their debut full-length, "Blackborne Souls", German doom trio LORD VIGO succeed in doing just that, and do so magnificently.

"Blackborne Souls" is overflowing with strong riffs, operatic vocals, well-crafted composition and morose disposition. Drummer/singer Vinz Clortho's vocals echoe all of the excitement and energy of anyone's favorite NWOBHM frontperson, but also manage to maintain the mournful attitude and understatedness characteristic of great doom, a duality perhaps best exemplified on the album's fifth track, "Blasphemy". The most aggressive track on  "Blackborne Souls", "Blasphemy" is a bone-shattering bruiser with a tight groove and great, shout along vocals. However, despite the relative busyness of "Blasphemy" (a quality also shared by the album's second track "When The Bloodlust Draws On Me"), LORD VIGO also display an aptitude for utilizing space, which is perhaps most apparent on the album's creeping, cavernous opening track "Oh Mother Earth". However, the band finds themselves perhaps too much space on the album's fourth track "Great City In The Sky".

"Great City In The Sky" begins with a wash of ambient noise and tensions build with gregorian chants and a thundering, warlike drum, to great effect. Despite its excellent, anticipation producing introduction, "Great City In The Sky" is fairly disappointing once it comes in full swing. While the track has great moments, the whole piece feels as if it is building to arrive at payoff that never quite comes. But if that payoff does not come in "Great City In The Sky", it certainly arrives in the main riff of the following title-track, "Blackborne Souls". Built around an absolutely infectious, hard driving doom riff, the strength of which could possibly have carried the whole album if it had to, "Blackborne Souls" is a clear candidate for being the album's standout track (although "Blasphemy" certainly gives it a run for its money).

On "Blackborne Souls", LORD VIGO bring the energy and epic sentiment of classic heavy metal to the heaviness and darkness of doom metal, a mixture reminiscent of the classic days of the genre, when band such as WITCHFINDER GENERAL and CATHEDRAL ruled all that was doom. Yet  they do so in a fairly original way, with a very distinct sound and identity of their own. One listen to the triumphant main riff and boundless spirit on the track "For Being Unknown" illustrates that point better than any words could. On "Blackborne Souls", LORD VIGO manage to do something very difficult: recreate sounds in the vein of a beloved past, yet do so in a way that sounds original and even refreshing.