I once had a argument with a musician buddy of mine... said that Doom Metal is the least technical metal out there, that most of them cannot play in a real metal band. What did I do? Slugged him hard. He played in a hair metal band called Teach Me - an act that did not make it past a year of life. I still play in a Doom band years later and writing about all forms of metal - while he is a janitor in a welding shop and balled as a billiard ball and never married. Idiot - he did not know what it takes, and that is why he don't play.

Doom Metal is that single style of metal that if its done wrong, it sounds like crap. You cannot hide bad playing behind other thrashing riffs - it is exacting as it is mesmerizing. With that said, Procession is a band that shows that Doom Metal is as technical as any out there. With slow and heavy riffing, and incredibly articulate lyrics - these Chilean metal madmen are some of the best out there doing the low slung, massively heavy yet deeply thought provoking style today.

The band sounds like an updated Candlemass (one of my favourite bands) with the intensity of early My Dying Bride, they bring the highest level of musicianship and power to the table. Songs like the slow pounding of Raven of Disease to the complex and ethereal sounding The Funeral of an Age just highlights the bands dedication to making music that is heavy, yet has this breath of life that just draws you into this dark inspired world of melancholy stories and torture ideals that are addictive as hell.

The combination of talent, the attention to the music and the fact that the recording has a rawness that adds to the heaviness makes Procession one of the elite in the genre. Doom Metal may not be to everyone's taste, but even thatcannot hid the talent that this band has in its doom laden tales. Any Metaller will be amazed with this album from the start - I was.