Doom-Metal.com: Reviews
In 2001 Worship vocalist and drummer Max passed away and that sad event seemingly foreshadowed the end of the cult underground project by himself and Daniel 'The Doommonger' Vaross. Luckily, Daniel decided not to let the legacy die and Worship is still officially existent and there may be perspectives for the release of the second full length DOOOM that was left unfinished after Max's death. In the meantime, there were two tracks left unreleased that Daniel and Max recorded together. The last of them is featured on this release, together with the dedication to Max by those of the Mournful Congregation. Side A features the
8-minute long epic by the Australian band. The song tells the story of mankind, a people doomed to remain stuck in this world of misery, finding solace in each other, yet never finding true release. Only the individual that devotes him or herself to the truth beyond our existence and walks a path hidden from the ignorant others may pass beyond the veil and reach the other side. A beautiful theme in itself and an even better way to honour the memory of Max. I hope that Max was able to reach the Nirvanic temple Mournful Congregation speaks of.
Musically, the band has taken a bit of a different approach than in the past. Instead of going for their former sound, an ultra-slow and utterly depressing mix of old My Dying Bride and Thergothen, they chose to make a more melodic song, with an emphasis on the lead guitars. The result is a very honest, emotional track that puts many other melodic doom bands to shame. This one goes straight to the heart and if this song is any indication for the upcoming works of the band, 2004 is going to be the year of the comeback of Mournful Congregation. . . .
Fans of either of the bands will gobble this stuff up, but sadly this limited to 500 only release sold out some time ago. Desperate people can always try and contact Painiac Records though, and maybe get lucky. For those not so lucky some substitutes can be found in the other releases of these great bands, which are more widely available.
In short, this is high quality extreme doom for those who love theirs served raw, cold, empty, depressive, and so on. . . .
Before even dreams were dreamt of
There existed misery. . . .
Reviewed by: Oscar Strik
(Review has been edited)