All Metal genre shares a common feature: even having a set of bands that prefers to use a classical insight (the ones who have an Old School), evolution is there to take things to the future, and to keep the genres alive and fresh. Doom Metal was born as a new way of playing the slow paces and somber ambiences that BLACK SABBATH created on the quartet's early releases, but in a personal way. But today there are countless subgenres coexisting with classic Doom Metal form. And the French quintet THE BOTTLE DOOM LAZY BAND comes to commemorate its 15 years of activity with a live album "2005 - 2020 Doom Over The Years".

They prefer something near of the classic Doom Metal format, but with a cleaner insight, something that could be compared to something done by CANDLEMASS in its classic times. The tempos are slow and funereal, but always with good melodies and a set of bitter and oppressive ambiences that are hard to resist, even if you're a traditional Heavy Metal fan. And as a live album, it is filled with that grasping energy. The drummer Guyome mixed and mastered the album (and for the ones that still don't know, even a live album has to be mixed and mastered, unless you love the sound of old bootlegs recorded with a tape deck on the back pocket of the pants), keeping the live feeling and energy there, always trying to keep the sonority clean and defined, but without tearing apart the live feeling of the album. And things worked on a great way, indeed.

One could say that only 10 songs on a live album isn't enough, but check the time lengths of the songs. And all of them are really great (remembering that the album celebrates 15 years of activity), but the smashing weight of "Blood for the Bloodking" (very good and interpretative vocals, with great tunes), the darkened and melodic "The Dead Can't Lose Again" (excellent rhythmic basis created by bass guitar and drums), the experimental and abusively heavy outfit of "Ridin' Bones" (more than 12 minutes, a funereal hooking ambience raised by the guitars), the hooking and savage "Night of the Living Dead" (charming bitter melodies, indeed, and a great chorus), the nasty and climatic "Lost n' Drunk", and the funeral rhythmic shifts of "Too Old" are their finest moments. But as a surprise for the fans, the only track that wasn't recorded alive is "Into the Necronef (Unplugged)", and as its name states clear, is an acoustic song using only vocals and acoustic guitars, that creates contrasts between the Doom Metal way of the band with the beauty of non-electric instruments. Yes, this live album is really very good.

As my final words, it must be stated that THE BOTTLE DOOM LAZY BAND isn't creating a new form of Doom Metal at all. But as "2005 - 2020 Doom Over The Years" shows, they're a pretty good band, and deserve to be known and heard by Doom Metal fans around the world, because they can become a driving force for the genre.