Doom Metal and Black Metal go together like peas in a pod. Why? Personally I think it's because they both strongly evoke certain images of nature. Doom Metal carries this natural imagery of grey skies and rainy weather. Black Metal does the same for grey snowy days, but the common link seems to be grey skies. I love grey skies, especially when it's also slightly warm out, but grey skies and stormy weather just resonate with me for some reason.

When I finally got into Doom Metal I was in the Thousand Islands, sitting out on a covered porch watching the grey clouds get darker and darker, waiting for the moment when the dam would break and the storm unleashed. Before it got that far the sky got really dark, to that point of mottled navy blue and I'll just never forget that image, it's burned into my head for all time and I'll always associate that weather with doom metal.

According to The Metal Archives NECROPANTHER is a Melodic Death/Thrash Metal band? Maybe it's just this EP, but this is definitely more Doom and Black Metal than it is Death and Thrash; which is good because I don't actually like Thrash Metal, I'm just surprised to see the band labeled as such. These guys are from Denver, Colorado which doesn't surprise me, lots of inspiration for Black or Death Metal to be found out there.

This EP is only 16 minutes long, but there's a good amount of variety to be found. "The Descent" is just classic doom style, very well written and executed and it makes a great intro. Then we get to "Benthic Storms" which is probably the most exciting song on here. This one is more Melodic Black Metal, with a little bit of weirdness going on in the background. Paul Anop is the vocalist and I must say he impressed me, first I realized he kind of reminds me of the first vocalist for the band EQUILIBRIUM; he's got that perfect Black/Folk Metal voice, but generally he just has that timbre that to me embodies Black Metal vocals.

I really like the song titles by the way, remember that OCEAN COLLECTIVE album "Pelagial"? I don't know about the rest of you but that's how I learned what the different layers of the ocean are called, so I was intrigued just from seeing the song titles, but I have to say the music really matches the lyrics. "Abyssal Plains" is perfectly eerie and doomy; it makes for a beautiful instrumental interlude.

Now, "Cheers For Seth Davey" is a really interesting song from a genre perspective. Suddenly, this album is Progressive Black Metal with a hint of Doom. Layers of intricate guitar work underneath the verse and the rhythmic patterns are really neat, it definitely seems like these guys were going out of their way to make each song on this EP stand out in its own way. This is probably the most melodic song and therefore the most memorable, but I really want to give props for bringing together a great Doom/Black Metal sound. It doesn't just sound like the majority of Black/Doom Metal bands, it really sounds like the band went out of their way to make this EP interesting if not unique.

I feel like I've stretched out this review enough, it's 16 minutes of Doom/Black Metal that stays intriguing throughout. I think further discussing much more would be doing the band a disservice. I will definitely be paying attention to future releases from this band.