With the amount of music being released worldwide these days,
one has to waddle through a lot of dirt to uncover some true underground gems.
Albez Duz is one such lost gem that I stumbled across recently. The duo of Impurus and
Alfonso Lopez have released an Occult Doom Rock record that sends the listener
back to the 90s in an instant - The Coming of Mictlan.
Musically speaking, there is nothing here that strays from the well-trodden path of doom metal. The traditional droned and distorted
guitar riffs, along with blues guitar solos and slow tempo drumming play
through most of the record. The use of keyboard symphonies in the background reminds
one of the older doom metal acts. But, it’s the vocals by Alfonso Brito Lopez
that make all the difference, highly reminiscent of the great voice of Pete
Steele they make this album stand out from the rest of the pack.
The album kicks off with “Heaven’s Blind” and its
booming and echoing narration with drums beating in the background slowly bringing
in the gloom and doom into the listeners world. There is some classic doom that
would fight right into the early 90’s in songs like “Fire Wings” and “Servants
of Light”. The album at no point feels monotonous or too stretched. The subtle
variation running through it helps keeps the listeners engrossed till the very end.
“Feathered Snake” sounds depressive and quite upbeat at the
same time, giving out vibes of an alternative/blues rock track at times. “Drowned”
is stripped off to a bare minimum, with the distorted guitar totally absent
replaced by a solo acoustic tune playing through it with minimalist drumming
in the background, making it stand out on the record.
Overall, Albez Duz are not pushing the boundaries of Doom Metal, yet
have carved out their own space in the sub-genre with “The Coming of Mictlan”.
The album feels extremely fresh and catchy, while blasting away some classic
old-style occult doom metal. A must listen for fans of Paradise Lost, My Dying
Bride and of course, Type O Negative.
