Size: 139 MB
Bitrate: 320
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Ripped by: ChrisGoesRock
Some Artwork Included
The self-titled full length debut of Los Angeles quintet Early Moods is a marriage of classic underground doom like Candlemass, Witchfinder General, Pentagram, Trouble and Saint Vitus, paired with traditional “big box” Heavy Metal melodies and song structure. These two contrasting aesthetics may seem incongruous, but the skilled musicianship of Early Moods — some of whom have played music together since their early teens — manages to find the perfect balance between grit and gloss.
“From the beginning, the purpose for this band was to incorporate our love of traditional doom metal with a heavy metal approach,” guitarist Eddie Andrade says. “We wanted to show that heavy doom can be complemented with melodies and harmonies. Black Sabbath meets NWOBHM is what we aim for, really.”
The band was founded in 2015 by Andrade and vocalist/keyboardist Alberto Alcaraz after a few years of playing in thrash and death metal projects before the two realized that the classic doom that they’d grown up with was what they really wanted to explore. Going through a few lineup changes while delving deeper into the diverging influences that were calling, Early Moods arrived at the sound and lineup that grew their fanbase locally. The band soon captured the attention of German label Dying Victim Productions, who released their debut EP, Spellbound in 2020. Early Moods is Oscar Hernandez on lead guitar, Chris Flores on drums, Elix Felciano on bass, Alcaraz on vocals/synth and Andrade on guitar.
Early Moods was recorded at 7th Street Studios in downtown L.A. by Carlos Cruz (Warbringer, Chris Poland, Power Trip) from October to December of 2021. It was mixed by Allen Falcon of Birdcage Studios and mastered by Brad Boatright of Audio Siege who has worked with bands like Sleep, Obituary, and High On Fire.
The album opens with a slow fade of ringing feedback that builds into the main motif, an infectious trilling Iommi-esque guitar line of “Return To Salem’s Gate” that turns on a dime into a double time gallop and just as quickly back again, all the while building subtle harmonies of vocals and guitars. “Live To Suffer” nods to the swinging denim doom of Trouble while “Funeral Rites” takes a more grunge leaning tack with syrupy guitars and Pentagram style narrative structure. The band’s namesake song “Early Moods” begins as an eerie ballad with chorus-soaked guitars playing a sinister riff that slowly grows as Alcaraz sings of tortured souls. Then suddenly it all breaks into a chugging charge with a gloriously simple but effective hammer-on melodic guitar line that soon transforms into a scorching lead. Throughout, the band deftly shows its skill with refined prowess.
The first thing that came to my mind when I listened to Early Moods was: “Fashion changes, but style endures”.
I know that a quote by Coco Chanel is one of the most unlikely opening lines you expect to read in a traditional doom metal album review, but I cannot find a better way to express my conviction that, despite all the evolution and the branching out of metal in the last 50+ years, the back-to-basics style will always be a winner, but only when done rightly and respectfully.
Early Moods have not reinvented the wheel. Au contraire, they are using a formula that has been done time and time again. They take the trad riffs and the groovy rhythms of bands like Black Sabbath, Pentagram, Witchfinder General, and Trouble, they spice it up with some Iron Maiden and Angel Witch melodies, they have a darker Sean Harris (Diamond Head) to sing on top, and the end product, leaning more to the doom metal side rather than the heavy metal one, is irresistible. You cannot go wrong if you go classic, provided that the style is not the only thing that is right on the money. The songs have to be worthy of that classic sound, too.
Everything about this release is cool: the black and white band photo, the actual look of the band members (check out the vocalist’s afro), the ‘70s-style logo, but, most importantly, the music. I am a sucker for this type of doom metal, but I am also very difficult to convince because the best of this has already been done, in my opinion. This is why most bands that just go for the retro sound, without the songwriting chops and the musicianship to justify the throwback, end up in my trash bin. Early Moods’ debut will end up in my year-end list instead.
01. Return To Salem's Gate
02. Live To Suffer
03. Early Moods
04. Defy Thy Name
05. Memento Mori
06. Last Rites
07. Curse The Light
08. Damnation
09. Funeral Macabre
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