I don’t always praise the virtues of the nowadays doom metal scene. If you take a look to
the releases launched by a label such as Firebox / Firedoom (one of the biggest doom
institution in the scene) you shall encounter some gems of course, like Swallow The Sun
or Fall of the Leafe but there are also lotsa bands (Aarni, Manitou, Rauta…) that for my
opinion should have never even recorded an album.
When I looked at the names of the band members and at the art-work, I expected the
usual female fronted (even if here all the members are women) gothic doom sensation:
bands who idealize After Forever, Liv Kristine and the likes??? and I was completely
wrong.
Shever are a Swiss doom death metal band inspired by the likes of My Dying Bride, Ater
or Majesty, which in this day and age of drone / psychedelic doom metal, is something
extremely rare and interesting.
“Oceans of Illusions” is not that innovative and it’s not even that ‘depressive’ but what it
lacks of both areas, it more than makes up for in its sense of tradition of pure brutal
doom metal.
This is above all an album that the old school freaks who remember the original wave of
doom metal (Candlemass, Evil, Witchfinder General, Trouble…) will embrace with open
arms.
Band’s main interesting idea is to couple pure doom metal atmospheres with slow paced
death metal patterns. “Oceans of Illusions” is a very good (strangely self released) album
recorded by a very promising act (and believe me, even the very attractive bass and
violin player didn’t influence my judgement).
Georges
