Thulsa Doom

Firstly, the sad news. I don't believe that any doom metal band that is about to be formed would ever be good enough to reach the rectory of the Reverend Bizarre. This EP is a perfect example of how the purest doom does sound in its finest moments. Whoever finds "Thulsa Doom" sucky can just get out of my sight. Unless you're Conan the Barbarian, of course. I could buy that.

A lot of doom has been passing by my ears these days and finding bands that are worth the listen gets tougher each day. I needed just one listen of Thulsa Doom to distinguish its quality from the litter. These two songs on it are just miles ahead, not only of most doom that is produced these days, it is just better than most doom metal ever recorded by someone.

It is totally out of question whether to listen to this if you're already into Reverend Bizarre. And even if you're not, I think this EP is a good way to start with the band as both tracks are not longer than ten minutes, very well-packed and absolutely finalised. The only material that is more catchy in my opinion is on "Crush the Insects". Nota bene - maybe my scale of catchiness is not very proper for a general use. If I could remove or change something about this record, I wouldn't touch a single note. It's just damn perfect.

Everything here seems to me like a reference to Robert Howard's most famous work. "The tree of suffereing" starts with the agonising cries of a man being nailed to a tree. The cries are accompanied by the pounding drums of Void, which prove to be the actual hammer nailing. One of my favourite Reverend Bizarre riffs crushes in, strangely melodic and perfectly harmonised with the monologue of the tortured subject. The man tells his gruesome tale and unfortunate destiny as the guitar towers higher and higher. It's hard to define the actual guitar rambling as a solo, but it sure as hell is fucking good.

Lee Dorrian once said that for him doom metal is not depressing, just the contrary, uplifting and majestic. I really loved that as I've always felt the same. "The tree of suffering" is one of these especially epic and heroic tales that really strikes a chord with me.

Albert is one of these vocalists that always presents music in a very realistic manner. It just never sounds fake. I can hardly think of any other man that could sing those lines like that, as righteous as it gets:

"I feel like I'm drowning in my own bloody sweat
Well, I used to love sunlight, but now it's peeling my head"

Favourite lyrics are favourite lyrics.

Side B, "The Children of doom" (I should make a survey on how many doom songs actually bear the same name) is the weaker part of the EP, if there is something weak. I'd rather say, less awesome. The songs structure is like the one of many Reverend ones - very slow begging, a lot faster second part. The drumming at the beginning is so slow, it will make most of you change the song. What should be noted is the main riff, which is unusually mythical about the band, or maybe let's say exotic. Maybe because I've seen the setting of the Conan movies many times, but the first assosiation I get is about sitting in a blurred room filled with candles, many people dressed in ceremonial gowns passing around. Even if you don't read the lyrics, you know that this song is a serious ritual of blood. Into light comes once again the ability of the guys to present musically what they want to present verbally.

The only reason this doesn't get the highest rating is because I listened to "In the rectory.." this morning.

The Thulsa Doom EP consists of two very different tracks "The Tree of Suffering" and "Children of Doom" with the differences being in style and pace: "Children of Doom" is a relatively fast track and quite heroic / epic in style whereas "The Tree is Suffering" is slow and more depressive in a Black Sabbath vein.

"Children of Doom" starts off slowly and in a subdued and morose manner; it's only about halfway through the track or some time after that it speeds up and reaches its majestic potential. This is one track the listener has to sit through all the way to the end to appreciate the treasure lying within. The lead guitar melodies are the best part of the song: they have a sinister, bewitching, almost heathen-ish air as they help launch the music into a fast and urgent middle section. Vocalist Albert Witchfinder adopts a half-spoken / half-singing style which doesn't quite suit the short song and its basically low-key nature; he seems trapped here and needs lots of space to stretch out and show people what he's really made of.

"The Tree of Suffering" is a much better track and begins with a vivid and tortured intro of voice and instrumentation simulating a scene of a man having nails banged into his hands and feet (or wrists and ankles) in preparation for a crucifixion. The song proper is repetitive with a fairly basic percussion rhythm, minimalist looping riffs and a slow lead guitar solo with long wobbling tones that create an oppressive, almost overwhelming and suffering ambience. The vocals follow the music note for note and are almost chanting; the slowness of the music allows Witchfinder plenty of opportunity to show off his operatic singing prowess. The lyrics are interesting in that they turn from despair and pain to defiance against death.

As an EP, "Thulsa Doom" doesn't represent Reverend Bizarre at their best: "Children of Doom" is an awkward effort especially and both songs are too short for the band's dramatic style of doom metal. Reverend Bizarre are at their best playing songs of over 10 minutes in length in which entire cycles of sword-and-sorcery fantasy might play out and heroes undergo trials of hardship, pain and despair as well achieve feats of bravery, strength and overcoming evil. I'd recommend the EP only to die-hard fans who must have everything the band has ever done and who have the money to spare.

Reverend Bizarre. A band that in such a short period of time captivated and stunned it’s listeners and followers by its releases that changed the face of doom right in front of our very eyes. The band’s three full-length releases are considered holy and sacred, and are the very epitome of what doom stands for today. However, what rather confuses me is the fact that why the band’s EP’s were rather looked over forgotten about (except of course, Harbinger Of Metal.

“Thulsa Doom” is another such EP, which in my opinion is rather overlooked. This EP consists of just 2 songs and lasts about fifteen minutes. The first track is done by the founder and ingenious mind of the band, Albert Witchfinder and the second is done by Lord Vicar who has know started a solo project which is dedicated to what else, but doom?

The first track is a slab of such perfect; such flawless doom that words cannot describe it. This track starts off with the sound of nails being hammered through a man and his screams of pain. A string of crushing riffs and extremely haunting vocals follows this. The track is very much in the vein of early doom bands like Pentagram, Candlemass, Saint Vitus and Black Sabbath. The atmosphere Mr. Witchfinder creates is nothing short of amazing and is in all ways a complete classic. I personally would not be a bit surprised if this had been on the band’s classic debut album. The chorus of the track (Contemplate this/ on the tree of suffering) is said with such authority that it will permanently burn a mark in your head and is my moment of the album.

The second track, “Children Of Doom” is not nearly as good as the previous track. The trance like drum beat which signals the start of a new track from the band (which by the way is done by Lord Vicar) got me interested but only for a short while. The guitar tone in this track is downright bad and the vocals are ineffective as they were effective in the EP opener. The riffs are good but the guitar tone ruins it completely. Reverend Bizarre is a band, which likes to keep it music slow, majority of the time but when they decide to up the tempo they do so extremely successfully, but when they try to do this time everything falls apart. This track basically ruins whatever the first track had done to captivate the listener. This is an extremely mediocre track considering the band’s unimaginably high standards.

This EP is a must have for the fans of this legendary band. I’d give the first track a fifty out of fifty and the second track not a point over twenty five. That brings the total of this release to 75, but I give an additional 3 points just for the chorus of the first track. HEAR THIS!

This is what I call Doom Metal. I was tired of all the bands that claim that their style is “Doom” but actually has nothing to do with it. Doom isn’t crying, or getting stoned, or dreaming about fairs and wizards. Doom is about abandoned cemeteries, black candles, obscure wastelands, and that’s what REVEREND BIZARRE transmits with this EP. As you might have read in several of the other reviews, I’m usually bored by bands that try to include Doom elements in their music, but it’s not because I don’t like this style, actually is one of my favourites. The problem is that a lot of people believe that to be “Doomer” than the rest they must play slower than the rest, doing songs longer than the rest and that way they become the heaviest band in the world. Luckily REVEREND BIZARRE doesn’t share that way of thinking
This EP counts with only two tracks, and it last 15 minutes, but that’s enough for them to teach a lesson about what true Doom really is. In the first track, “The Tree Of Suffering”, they show us their devotion to the Great Trilogy of the genre (BLACK SABBATH, SAINT VITUS and PENTAGRAM (Us)), with a really heavy riff that could be in the repertory of any of the previously mentioned bands. “The Children Of Doom”, the second track, is a gets more in the epic vein, with a “gallop” section, faithful to the CANDLEMASS style. A little bit of everything, and everybody is happy.
So, if your looking for a record to get depressed and cry about how life is a misery; or to get high and go in a cosmic journey, stay away from REVEREND BIZARRE. This is Doom for those who really enjoy the genre in it’s purest state.

As doom-metal played as preached by Reverend Bizarre usually is not easy music due the lenght of records - at least I cannot easily find time for a 70 minutes long cd. Thus this 7" with two exclusive songs gets really much playing in my record player - it has 15 minutes of one of the best doom around.

"The tree of suffering" on the side A is quite traditional song by Reverend Bizarre, expect for its short length (not much over six minutes). The main riff ain´t perhaps worth the A-side of a single, but as it is comped with nice little solos (not traditional heavy metal ones!) and supported with Rev.Bizs really tight playing, this song is well worth listening.

On the flipside, "The Children of Doom" is probably just as long song as you can put on a 7", 8min 24s. The song starts slowly (what a surprise!) with Albert singing really low. Hypnotic drumbeat and very simple but catching riff here. After a while, a minimalistic solo starts to follow the riff.
Just as the listener gets used to the slow tempo of the song, Reverend Bizarre puts on their NWOBHM-gear, really rocking faster part which lasts just long enough to be noticed, then the band reminds again that this is doom-metal, after all. The songs ends with a fine, melancholic backing choir-singing, after which the listener can´t move for a while. Really great!

To sum it up: A-side is quite fine but what makes this single really worth buying (to those who aren´t Reverend Bizarre worthsippers already!) is the B-side with its almost epic doom anthem. Not perfect, but one solid song plus one really great one still gives it a high rank.