Sorrows Path was formed in 1993 taking inspiration from staple bands
in the genre
like Memento Mori, Solitude Aeturnus, and Candlemass. After a long hiatus (full
of extremely unfortunate accidents to various band members) they
debuted their 2010 release “The Rough Path of Nihilism” which received praise
for its mature melodic metal sound. With this follow-up “Doom Philosophy” the
band hopes to finally achieve stable footing in the realm of doom metal. This
latest collection of songs is certainly an accomplishment, full of strong
writing and dark, atmospheric touches.
The album opens with the short track “First Beam of Darkness
Into Light,” which starts with a nice atmosphere supported by ethereal keyboard pads.
This first minute, as nicely crafted as it is, is not representative of the rest
of the album, which is a shame because it’s very skillfully done and would have
added complimentary variation to the dark music to come. The track smoothly
modulates into acoustic guitar sounding quite sinister before wonderfully
segueing into the next track “Tragedy,” which more accurately sets the stage for
the next hour. The track is a solid five minutes of enjoyable riffing and great
bass work. The vocals also are utilized well – one can almost hear vocalist
Ioannidis’ voice drip with a deep operatic vibrato full of, appropriately
enough, sorrow.
“A Dance with the Dead” continues the solid and heavy sound
with some more choir-like elements, and is a welcome spin on the style of the
previous track. This track also introduces a vocal element that will continue to
play a role in the album: what I dub the “ghost boo.” The ghost boo sound effect
is what appears to be Ioannidis recording in a high-pitched voice in a fashion
that should sound silly but works quite well, and each time in the album it
reappears it’s used in a different way to compliment the music, so it’s actually
very impressive and a gives the band a way to stand out in the sea of its doom
metal compatriots.
“Brother Of Life” is probably the strongest song in the album,
with wonderfully creative riffs, impressive vocals, multiple breakdowns, and a
building atmosphere that ends with a great impression. “Everything Can Change”
continues the solid song-writing with some more variation on the vocals and even
a nice acoustic segment that is much too short. The limitations of the overall
approach to the vocals, however, begin to show in “The King With a Crown of
Thorns,” where Ioannidis’ prominent vibrato starts to feel a little bit overused
in light of the music, which takes a slower (but still heavy) approach to
songwriting than the heavy and fast-paced riffing in the tracks before it.
Despite this, it’s still an enjoyable track with an especially catchy chorus and
a nice Spanish guitar breakdown that is again too short.
The next few tracks “The Venus
and the Moon” and “Epoasis”
return the heavy and past-paced style of the beginning of the album and are
solid and enjoyable. “Clouds Inside Me” is a particularly good example of the
some of the great and simple song-writing on the album, as it alternates between
two distinct sections, eventually fusing the two in an extremely satisfying
manner. And then we come to “Darkness”: a great track like the rest with some
interesting flanger and almost techno-like sound effects at points, but with a
funny highlight at the end. Without spoiling it, there is actually a hilarious
laugh-out-loud moment that not only doesn’t ruin the heavy atmosphere of the
doom metal surrounding it, but supplements it wonderfully. The album closes with
the fantastic (nearly) instrumental “Damned (O)fish-L.S.D.” Here the
song-writing and work by guitarist Giannis Tziligkakis and bassist Stavros
Giannakos really shine without having to write around the vocals, and ends the
album on a powerful note that invites the listener to spin it all over again.
This album is a very solid effort that shows the mature skill
of these experienced musicians in the genre. It isn’t necessarily
ground-breaking but it doesn’t need to be: the album accomplishes exactly what
it aspires to. Recommended for all fans of
doom metal as well as those who just want a nice barrage of heavy sound.
