Apostle of Solitude – Embraced By The Black (Necrology Recordings)
By Chris Barnes
December 12, 2006

Wow. I’ve given this 3 solid spins, and as jaded and as burnt-out as I am at this point, Apostle of Solitude’s debut CD EP Embraced By The Black is pretty damn impressive. It puts the “Metal” part back in “Doom Metal”. No drones, no croaks, rasps, grunts, strings. It’s the real deal, Heavy Metal that is large on the HEAVY negative riff, honest-to-God (or whomever you worship) CLEAN, emotive vocals, and above all else… some really kick ass songwriting recalls an early Solitude Aeturnus vibe. And it feels honest, you know? Earthy production, real light on the sheen, like these guys are into Doom Metal for the sake of Doom Metal. And the bassplayer has a belly that’s even larger than mine. Fucking kick ass, makes me feel good (sorry Brent – I like beer too).

There is a part in “Curse of a Gift”, midway through where Corey the Drummer uses some sort of instrument prior to the break whose sound brings me back to the 39 lashes heard in the Jesus Christ Superstar soundtrack (a rock classic, if you don’t own it you should). In short, it’s a cool addition, cheers to whoever decided to add that… definitely adds gravitas to the proceedings. The other two tracks are equally as good, this is a true band effort, no one’s hot-doggin’, everyone is into making the sum greater than the parts.

My hat is off to Chuck Brown, who, as proficient as us hardcore doom fans knew him to be behind the bean cans for America’s shining Avatars of True Doom, The Gates of Slumber, he is as impressive as a guitarist (a killer mix of the “Emotive” and the “Metal”) and a vocalist. Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown!

Great stuff, I highly recommend this if you are even a casual fan of great, honest Heavy Metal and really a must if you call yourself a Doom fan. Shook me right out of my pre-vacation burnout. Nice work and congrats to the band for a killer effort.