Lord Of Doubts - The Gates Of Doom (2011, CDS)

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Lord Of Doubts - The Gates Of Doom (2011, CDS)

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The Russian shamans Lord Of Doubts returned from their journey in the cold steppes with a killer three track EP called "The Gates Of Doom". To be honest I was expecting a full album coming after their last year debut one but I can live with this little fix too. For once more the comparison to Electric Wizard is inevitable (personally I hadn't problem with that and neither have now). But these guys seem to catching their own sound step by step. Anyway, I liked their album and definitely I dig this one too. Ritual sludge - doom full of psychedelic vibes. In this EP they created even gloomier and thicker atmosphere. Since latest Electric Wizard's work might have disappointed many of you, this is what you need…

Lord of Doubts blew everyone away last year with their heavier than heavy début album and now they are back with another installment of crushing but trippy doom metal. The Russian band got a bit of flak from some reviewers for their obvious similarities to doom legends Electric Wizard but this EP sees them slowly gaining more of their own sound.

The band still retains the same style, sound, and approach and will get compared to EW again with this release. It is not the fault of the reviewer, it is just they do sound like Electric Wizard so what can you do? Their label Sekt ov Gnozis Productions describes this album as "Luciferian Shamanic Dance" music but I don't know where the dancing comes in, one thing is for sure; this is perfect bong-toking, trippy music that is so crushingly psychedelic and heavy that it has been on repeat ever since I first got it. Being only an intro plus 2 songs, it is a bit short and frankly I was expecting a full-length but can't bitch too much when its this good.

The mini-album starts off with a two-minute intro piece which is nothing too spectacular but it does set the mood for the two very atmospheric tracks that are to follow. The first one is the title track, 'The Gates of Doom' which kicks off with a repeated fuzzy riff before launching into mind-bending psychedelia.

The atmosphere is absolutely mesmerizing and it is made that way by a repeated chanting background vocal and the extreme misanthropy that the song projects (again another early Electric Wizard trait) that is gripping and dramatic. The vocals still sound like Jus Oborn but I have no complaints about that at all as I dig Oborn's voice; they have a cosmic aura that is utterly unique. 'The Gates of Doom' has a ritualistic vibe and is hypnotic for all of its 6 and a half minutes.

The following 'Kali Ma - Black Mother' carries on with a similar vibe and is equally as stunning but it's the more original song on the EP. Again it is psychedelic, hypnotic and totally sucks the listener in with its surreal atmosphere. The band isn't big on a riffs; rather they find one killer and stick to it and while that spells boredom for most bands, it actually works in Lord of Doubts favor. In conclusion then; this band seems to be building up to something classic, something truly essential for the psychedelic stoner doom scene. When this will happen is anyone's guess but the band has the potential to be the next really big band in the stoner-doom stakes. If you are not impressed with the direction that Electric Wizard have taken with their 'Black Masses' album, then this should fill the void. They might still get under your skin with their blatant EW worship but personally it doesn't bother me too much at all. This is an all too short but almost perfect slice of mesmerizing psyche-doom that is impossible to ignore. Lord of Doubts keep getting better and better.

~ 9/10 by www.doommantia.com