The thing about music is that the way you perceive it so utterly subjective. I mostly listen to music in the car (I've got a one-hour commute) and then before I write a review I listen to it at home a couple of times as well. Listening to music in the car is a good test for one thing in particular: Is the band you're listening to able to keep your attention? If I find myself realizing that I've missed two or three songs, I usually consider that a fairly bad sign.

And that's exactly what has happened every time I've listened to the new album 'Kaldera' by Finnish doom/sludge troupe Lurk. I find myself drifting away into thoughts about this and that, only to come back and try to get into the darkness of Lurk. It's not as if what they do is bad as such, and it's kind of nice that the singer sounds a lot like Jan-Chris de Koeijer from Gorefest, although I'm sure that's not really the intention, but it's just not captivating, actually a bit like an artistic flatline - perhaps boring is the correct label, really.

This one is for fans of dark and gloomy music, but although I'm exactly that, 'Kaldera' sadly doesn't make its way under my skin.