OBLIVION BEACH is a Finnish doom metal band. They were born out of the demise of melodic death/doom band VUOLLA, with four members from that band coming together for a different approach. The vocals, provided by keyboardist Kati Kallinen, are clean but contain plenty of variety. She can be lithe and ethereal when needed but also sings her ass off with incredible force.

Musically, this is very much a riff based album with the guitar tone crunchy and groove laden. The band leans more towards the traditional side of doom than more extreme forms but with a much more modern sound in terms of production and just how heavy many of the riffs are. There are plenty of moments of melody in the riffs but it isn't over done and is melded perfectly into the bands sound. A melancholic atmosphere also permeates among the songs to give them a subtle but persistent Gothic quality.

"Faces Nameless" opens the album with an immediate crushing wall of of sound and those wonderful vocals. The drums lend the song a sense of urgency despite its more lumbering approach. The bass is dense enough to provide that low end that all doom bands need but flexible enough to stretch the sound out to sound big enough to fill a room. The lead guitar work is decidedly more stoner/psychedelic in nature, as the ambient lull in the song around the 2:36 mark.

The next track "Elektrik Forest," seems like the better choice for the opening track, to be honest. The opening riff is groovy as hell and the drums have a great cadence. These two elements arrive very smoothly into the heavier parts of the song. Still, these first two tracks do set the tone for the rest of the album. Although there isn't one bad song out of the eight presented, I found the middle portion of the album isn't quite as strong these first two tracks and the last few, specifically "No Candidate," and "Teachings Outside The Garden."

The former is full of catchy vocal lines and thick riffs that carry those vocals with ease. I really loved the contrast between the riffs and quieter toned vocals during the stanzas. The mid portion where the guitars and keys come together as one is fantastic, as is the riff that is born out of the passage. The latter opens with lush keyboards that lead into a quiet arrangement of vocals and clean instrumentation. Haunting atmosphere, bolstered by AMAZING vocal delivery, carries the song to the next level. Sludge riffs and right drumming adds to the swirling mass of starry doom that makes this the best song on the album.

The last track on the album, "Bind Myself, " closes the album out nicely.  This one is rather moody, starting out as a mid paced rocker but the last two minutes, the song slows down to a melodic ambient piece with ghost like vocals and trippy music.  "Cold River's Spell," is a solid debut album that lays down the foundation for a career and leaves room to grow. I can't wait to see what they do next.