Maidens – Eve of Absolution

Maidens – Eve of Absolution

Error Records – 2013

Progressive, Sludge, Doom, Hardcore, Post Metal

Rated: ***

Hailing from the suddenly rich musical scene of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Maidens, are a sludgey post-metal-ish type group focused on the same dynamics as your friendly neighborhood Mastodon or Neurosis and churning it into a sound of their own. By their own we mean doom-as-hell riffs that will please fans from all sects of the doom metal community. Checkout “Discord: Storm on the Horizon” for classic doom/sludge dominancy in the form of an instrumental. As expected, heavy, detuned guitars and hardcore shouts dominate the sound, however a few interesting breaks from their main battleground keeps things interesting. For instance closer “The Calm, The Silence” ends things on an incredibly morose note with its mournful (yet heavy) lead guitar work. Eve of Absolution seems to be a concept album centered on civilization destruction and resurrection. Surely not for everyone and this type has been blown out many times over throughout the past decade but certainly great for fans of the style.

(Written by Matthew McGarity)

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