Denmark's WOEBEGONE OBSCURED is a Doom Metal band who's latest album is their third full length "The Forestroamer."  2018 has been an excellent year for Doom, with over a dozen albums across its many sub genre's already released.  The year is over halfway to the end but WOEBEGONE OBSCURED is here to show us that Doom still has a lot to offer. Track one, "The Memory and the Thought" opens with what I assume is the cackling of crows.  Shortly after, melodic bass and riffs show their face before the song drops the hammer with Danny Woe's deep throated death growls piercing the foggy veil.  He mixes in some blackened screams as well, displaying his want to combine some extreme fringes to the slower, moodier atmosphere.

The dynamics of their songwriting really impressed me and caught me off guard; they definitely like to mix it up a bit.  At the 2:35 mark, the rhythm guitar speeds up to near thrash levels of ferocity while the gloomy and atmospheric melodies keep the foundation of the song going.  It is here, that Woe's haunting clean vocals make their presence known. "Drommelfald" has a clean beginning, spacey guitar licks spread across eerie vocal chants but the song quickly becomes rather abrasive; a simple but crushingly thick riff and vocals that combine Death with Black work as equal partners in creating a more brutal sound than some Doom bands can pull off.   About halfway thru the song, things speed up on the back of Woe's thunderous double bass.   Just as quickly as they enter Death Metal territory, they leave it once more for another round of clean guitar but this time it is accompanied by a splattering of drums and Quentin's insanely clever bass skills; bass in Doom bands often gets overshadowed by its own heaviness but Quentin's consistently sticks out. Martin joins Woe with a nice little section with clean guitar and leads that segue perfectly back into the doom and gloom.

The third track, "Crimson Echoes," is just an interlude but it follows two tracks that were both over ten minutes in length so it is a nice break.  Its quiet ending is a good opener for the next full track, which also happens to be the title track.  It is the most varied track on the album and it takes you thru a wild, misanthropic journey.   It spends the first two minutes or so building up, layers added to the core as the seconds tick away; however, it doesn't fully break open, even when WOE comes growling in.  Not yet; you have to wait for it, for whatever lurks behind this darkest of corners.  The song takes a pause, of sorts, to let some wonderful melodic guitar sprinkle down.  Finally, it breaks with the song alternating between choppy, heavy riffs, and more melodic clean guitar. Light keys, drums, canyon wide riffs, and Death growls make their appearance after the mix spills over from the heated cauldron. The last track, "Dormant in the Black Woods," is under five minutes in length and serves as both an intro and a complete song unto itself.  Only clean vocals are found here and the music isn't as abrasive although it is still definitely Doom. A wonderful way to end an album, one that is yet another high mark for Doom in 2018.