Yours truly must admit that it has been quite some time since a proper death/doom metal record came his way and blew him the fuck away, but such is the case with this stellar 3-track EP by the morose US scumbags that are Rotting Kingdom. These guys have a unique way of mixing and blending various elements from the death metal and doom metal genres to great effect without sounding even remotely contrived or derivative. The way in which their heartfelt melodies move from passages that reek of death and decay to huge-sounding sections that carry with them more longing and loneliness than one can put into words is just sublime. Quite a few of the riffs and melodies are somewhat hypnotic yet they are riddled with subtle nuances and cool features that one starts picking up on the more one listens to the record. The vibe of the entire affair is simply steeped in despair and whispers of broken dreams that were buried and forgotten ages ago – how can you not love that? The compositions flow together beautifully and whenever I listen to the EP, I find it impossible to skip any tracks; one simply has to listen to it from beginning to end and immerse oneself fully in its bombastic and crushing sonic landscape.

The cover artwork is superb and the lyrics are both moving and suitably bleak in a dark-romantic-gothic-horror-sort-of-way, which is just the way I like it. Rotting Kingdom are not exactly reinventing the wheel here or doing something original as such, but this EP is nevertheless so goddamn confident and convincing not to mention well-written that it hurts. Whether you are into early My Dying Bride, early Saturnus, or maybe even early Tiamat, this particular offering ought to appeal to you. Having said that, Rotting Kingdom are more raw and organic than those acts, which is probably why they hit right home with me.

This band deserves all the support they can get simply because their music is marvelous, but the ever-awesome label that is Godz ov War also deserves praise for unearthing brilliant releases such as this one and bringing it to our attention. You want gloomy and depressing music for November and December? Look no further than Rotting Kingdom – melodic and blackened death/doom metal has rarely sounded better than it does here.

 

https://rottingkingdom.bandcamp.com/releases