I
don't know if there is any "Handbook
of Doom Metal Engineering",
but if it exists I am pretty sure
that these three young Finnish guys
have been reading it all day and all
night. "I Am the Gate"
is the first official release of The
Wandering Midget, which is regarded
by them as mini CD, but the overall
duration suggests otherwise. These
over fifty minutes of pure doom metal
will astonish you and will provide
you sheer evidence that old-fashioned
tunes can be truly refreshing. Old-fashioned
yes, but not outdated hear that doom
metal "innovators"?
The album merges
the two demos of the band, "First
Encounter", which was actually
released in 2006, and this year's
"I Am the Gate". The Wandering
Midget deliver a - deliberately raw
produced- doom metal mixture of Count
Raven and Reverend Bizarre. Their
sound is based on solid rhythms, not
the slowest you have heard, and the
emphatic vocal performance of Samuel
Wormius. The guitars while soloing
will remind you many times of contemporary
doom metal/rock bands, such as Witchcraft
(what a paradox to call them contemporary!),
and the drums is the epitome of what
we call "pounding". The
album is spiced with obscure epic
metal influences that range from Manilla
Road to Doomsword. I'm already
seeing some pleasure smiles on familiar
faces, while listening to the self-titled
track or the outstanding "Black
Figure Follows the Burial Company".
Sure there are weaknesses, but these
are the first step of The Wandering
Midget and there are quite big margins
for improvements, especially in the
composing sector. To summarize, "I
Am the Gate" is an exceptional
debut and it's up to them to
prove if they can write even a small
(but why not a big one) chapter in
the "Handbook of Doom Metal
Engineering".
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