Doomocracy – Unorthodox – Album Review
Bring on the DOOM!
Greek epic doom metal crew Doomocracy have finally followed up 2017’s bloody brilliant Visions & Creatures of Imagination (2017) with an album of such overstated trad metal meets doom (with more than a hint of power metal) magnificence, that we’re left aghast at the sheer maddening magnitude of it all!
Taken at face value, Unorthodox is an odd album title as this is actually as orthodox as they come. It’s proper doom mush, innit! By proper doom we mean the eternal effervescence of Candlemass at their most bombastic.
Taking their cues from such revered albums as Tales Of Creation (1989) and Chapter IV (1992), Doomocracy weave themes of faith and religion into their narrative and this results in a conceptual piece that is both heavy literally and figuratively.
Highly melodic, absurdly catchy and blessed with a sense of epic grandeur, the likes of “Eternally Lost” and “Prelude to the Apocalypse” are fist-pumping, blood-pressure-raising odes to the kind of music that has had its roots in metal since time immemorial. So, is it dated? Is it fuck! Unorthodox is as convincing as they come and, nostalgia aside, is as good an epic doom metal album as you’d care to stumble across in 2022.
“Novum Dogma” is Unorthodox‘s centrepiece and it’s fuckin’ glorious. With power metal histrionics coming to the fore, it’s a melodic masterclass that truly showcases the guitar chops of Angelos Tzanis and Harry Dokos and the sublime vocals of Michael Stavrakakis – not that they don’t prove their mettle throughout Unorthodox‘s 47 minute duration.
So, whether you’re a fan of classic metal or amazing doom, this album is mandatory listening and fans of the legendary Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus, Memento Mori and Atlantean Kodex will sure as hell dig the shit out of this! 8/10
Doomocracy‘s Unorthodox was released on November 11th, 2022 via No Remorse
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