Do you like your Doom like you like your coffee; a little bit Blackened? Well, Black Trillium are in plentiful supply! Hailing from New South Wales, Australia, this duo deliver a Doom Metal dirge far encompassing outside styles including straight Heavy Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal and even some Trance elements. Their debut effort, titled “The Fatal Shore,” is sure to encapsulate listeners into their Doom laden, Blackened world showcased on the artwork. But do Black Trillium deliver on their first-round-in-the-ring? Read on to find out!
Starting off there is a consistent theme with the tracks throughout the 39 minute runtime – and that is the aforementioned Trance feeling. Songs are built on this one trudging, hauling groove which are only eccentrically layered with the beautiful guitar melodies & growls (supplied by bassist/vocalist Simon Skipper), in addition to the soaring clean vocals (supplied by vocalist/guitarist Zachary Carlsson). It’s also important to note that “The Fatal Shore” should indeed be enjoyed wholly, as individual songs don’t quite define what the album has to offer.
Besides the consistency, “The Fatal Shore” delivers on the riff-front as well. Incorporating influences from bands such as Celtic Frost, Paradise Lost & My Dying Bride, the riffs on “The Fatal Shore” are devastating and tear-jerking at the same time. In addition, the riffs are layered heavily by Drone elements and acoustic guitars, giving the album added soundscapes around the central song. Throughout the hellish soundscape, Black Trillium manage to offer a dark aura to the experience to add to their subtly nuanced approach to Doom songcraft. Such is evident on tracks like “Conviction” and “Haunted Oceans”, where there’s a slightly on-edge feeling throughout but a sombre, comforting feeling juxta-positionally happening at the same time, a rare feat to say the least.
On their debut effort, the band have managed to seamlessly weave such a dark soundscape whilst simultaneously showcasing a good ear for overall musicality, something many bands can’t do as successfully without great practice.
Rating 3.5/5
MegaDeaf’s deaf-inite choices:
It’s 5 tracks long, just listen to the whole dang thing
Go support them here:
http://blacktrillium.bandcamp.com/
And go follow them here:
The Metal Wanderlust 