I have the deepest sympathy for Alan Averill (aka A.A. Nemtheanga) and I always try to listen everything he is involved in and not only his work with the mighty Primordial. So I did the same with the new album of Dread Sovereign, the Irish trio that follows different musical paths.
The truth is that the new album “Alchemical Warfare” is different from their previous works, because this time they mixed traditional doom metal with elements from NWOBHM and some Motorhead-like add-ons here and there. The final result lacks a bit in consistency (and this will make the doom purist cringe) but the truth is that the album has variety that will turn the eyes of many more people on the band that in any case honors the doom/heavy genre.
We are talking about an album that is rich and which is definitely worth listening. Alan’s characteristic vocals lead the way, while the production is raw enough that matches the band’s old school mentality. Maybe the only negative for me is the length of some compositions but yes, it’s sacrilegious to focus on how long is a composition when we are talking about doom metal albums. In general, the album houses lots of tracks that fits nicely with our drinks these dark days and everyone will find they tempo he prefers due to the variety in rhythms throughout the album. After the short intro the 10-minute long “She Wolf Of The Savage Seasons” rolls slowly for two and a half minutes, before the pace starts to speed up (it’s interesting that the fastest tracks are mostly in the first half of the album, while the most doom moments follow in the second half) while the single “The Great Beast We Serve” will be the ideal track if we’d manage to listen it live on stage due to its catchy sing-alongs.
As I said, on the second half of the album we notice the doomier compositions and my favorite one is “Her Master’s Voice” with a chorus that brings a Virgin Steele aura. But you know what? Let me tell you something, it is this classic metal turn of the band that seems to give the extra points on the new work of the Irishmen. At the end there is a cover of Bathory’s “You Don’t Move Me (I Don’t Give A Fuck)” but it doesn’t really add something to the album, personally I find it a bit out of the general good feeling I had until then.
