From Bandcamp, "YAAROTH is the Doom/Progressive Rock project of Dan Bell, an American musician and artist originally from Rochester, NY. In the past he has done some artwork for ORODRUIN and BLIZARO, but Bell is above all an extraordinary rock singer, a talented guitarist and a refined composer. Once known as YARROW, the band has recently been renamed YAAROTH and for the occasion Bell has reworked a promising demo from 2015 with Samuel Nells on drums. Enriched and expanded with unreleased chapters, it has become the intriguing debut of "The Man In The Wood," an album of timeless rock music for our times which finds a further reason for its appeal in an amateur and underground recording. The album has five songs.

"Ancient Sea Town" is the first. It's a very brief into, with gulls singing, and gentle waves of water. "The Subterranean Stench" is effectively the first song. It rolls with old school vocals and an obvious BLACK SABBATH influence, especially in the bass work. I picture dank dungeons, dirty people, and a lot of mud...the kind of town in the UK that most people want to forget about. The sound shifts a bit after the mid-way mark, but returns to the previous sound once more. "God of Panic" begins with almost Folky sounds from the guitars and vocals. This song is totally different than the previous one, and nothing like the title. It segues however to more solemn tones before picking up with a robust sound. The vocals are bit more animated as well.

"They Seek Baryba" is a darker and more Doomy affair. Clouds roll in and the skies grey, but they are not without peaks of sun, from more frail vocal passages and keyboards. It gets weird from there, as Doom Metal often does. The vocals go higher and the guitars hastier. The 14-minute "Cassap" closes the album. Soft, subtle tones open the song, with a ray of hope. It darkens from there, and expands into new territories along the way. The amount of back-and-forth from ardent Doom to near Folk music is surely an interesting take on the genre.

Maybe it's just me, but I vastly prefer my Doom Metal to have harsh vocals. Some clean mixed in are just fine, but when the basis of the vocals are harsh, it just hits better in my opinion. This album was fairly interesting at times, and downright weird at other times. But, it enhanced my musical palate.Purchase Link:

https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-man-in-the-wood