The Church Within
2010
While I normally love a lot of doom bands I do have to admit that it can be a fairly limited sound. That depends on the band of course, but many acts stick in the genre stick to a straight sludge by the numbers formula. That can be a good thing if done right too. Seamount are based in Germany, but have pulled in American vocalist Phil Swanson. This is their second release as it follows up a self-titled album. This band bravely pushes out the walls of their style to an extent and very early in the album establishes the fact that this is going to be epic doom. The deep tones and plodding pace still owe much to foundation laid out by the likes of Sabbath and Pentagram decades ago, but they build upon that with their own sometimes chaotic flurries of heaviness and noise. They swirl in some smooth grooves and even some more classic rock influences into their vast arsenal. They hold down the heavy end of the doom spectrum, but they never held back as they move forward. I admire how they attempt to explore more than the normal attributes of their field. However there is room for tightening up. A few of the songs drag and not all were memorable. Also the guitars could have come up in the mix a bit. What I think they have done is to take some chances and much of it works, but they now they need to build up the songwriting some. The musicianship and the creativity is there. They just need to get all the pieces lines up. When they do it will certainly be worth the wait.
www.myspace.com/seamountdoom
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