Maybe it’s got to
do with its cold winters but Chicago seems to have something for Doom. Mount
Salem emerged from this scene barely 2 years ago and “Endless” already validates
the band as flag-bearers of the genre.
Although the Doom
churned by the band is essentially traditional (i.e. old-school), it’s
also got one foot firmly in the Psychedelic sub-genre. Witchcraft and Pentagram
are certainly handy points-of-reference but the one band that Mount Salem kept
reminding me of is Coven, the late-1960s occult band. And like Coven, Mount
Salem boast female lead vocals around which all of the songwriting seems to be
based. Emily Kopplin, the gal in question, has an excellent voice even though
the vocal melodies are somewhat repetitive.
The organ, also
played by Emily, is another element of the music that is made good use of, as
heard in ‘Lucid’ for instance. Sonically-speaking the guitars tend to be dirty
with a few good solos thrown in and the drums sound powerful in their
simplicity. Ok, so this is not the most original material around but still, I
felt that “Endless” has a certain alluring character to it.
A welcome
discovery from a band to watch out for.
