YOUR MAJESTY hails from Madrid, Spain. They initially gathered in 2019 and had a multi-genre sound in mind. The result is their self-titled EP that tells a tale of a tormented soul wandering the earth for answers and they travel through the fold of time to the past. It's a Melodic Doom piece of pure melancholy and so many shades of gray, in a  strangely enjoyable sort of way for Doom fans like myself.

With the knowledge of "The River" being the prequel to the 2 main songs on this EP, I chose to listen to the third song first. There is an immediate feeling of melancholy with the slow strumming guitars. Tsara's vocals are a haunting blend of Aleah Starbridge (TREES OF ETERNITY, SWALLOW THE SUN) and Chelsea Wolfe not just range-wise but also with the mesmerizing storytelling qualities. You can easily imagine a gloomy setting; a rushing river, dark water rushing over jagged rocks under a blanket of slate gray sky.  The foliage along the banks is yellowed and the silt is full of rough gravel and shells. The subtle melody slowly eases you into the unsettled water and eventually, you're enveloped by the dark river, the chuggy riffs paint the rapids and the pulse of the wild waters. Yet, near the very end of this 9 and a half minute track, something pulls you out and back onto the gritty bank again. It all seems very symbolic of depression or perhaps dying and returning in a different form.

"The Bridge" guides you from that river onto a treacherous passage overhead. This song takes on a classic Doom Blues feel, very early era BLACK SABBATH inspired at the first half. The reverb in the gloomy riffs (a-la ELECTRIC WIZARD) creates a daunting journey on a bridge that takes you across a valley or canyon. There are demons behind the columns and grabbing from below. The chilling melodies in the guitar work paint this danger as both literal and symbolic. This person is also enduring a battle within themselves and this nighttime trek across this bridge is triggering dark and dangerous thoughts within them hence the "leave me alone" sort of lyrical content as well.

"Reflection" is immediately more chaotic. The volume is louder, the riffs are distorted in this hazy, almost distraught sort of way. The narrator is having some twisted realizations and the vocals echo this feeling in such a chilling way. "Only you can see what you create" has such a heartbreaking sadness while the guitars build and whirl like flames around those lyrics. Then, by the end of the song, the vocals grow in that fire's rage to screamed ones and you can see the gray painted world illuminate in orange and red fire then it all fades to black.

Overall, YOUR MAJESTY really knows to capture the ultimate melancholy atmosphere that Melodic Doom Metal aims to create. For me, the key aspect to well done Doom is all about the pacing. Too slow and the attention becomes fleeting, but too fast can wreck the setting and emotional balance. YOUR MAJESTY has an excellent grasp on this tricky concept for this subgenre, judging by these three songs anyway. Despair and the complex emotions that float in along with it flowed in quite nicely in every track. You can really visualize and feel what the narrator was going through and the surroundings they perceived during their journey. With this intriguing EP, I think this band has some great groundwork to what's bound to be a pure Doom Metal experience with their full length one day.