HOODED MENACE — Effigies of Evil (review)

HOODED MENACE — Effigies of Evil album cover Album · 2012 · Death-Doom Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"Effigies of Evil" is the 3rd full-length studio album by Finnish doom/death metal act Hooded Menace. The album was released through Relapse Records in September 2012. The band have at various points in their career included more members, but "Effigies of Evil" was recorded as a two-piece consisting of Lasse Pyykkö on Guitars, Vocals and Bass and Pekka Koskelo on Drums.

The music on the album is doom metal with unintelligible growling. I´m reminded of "Forest of Equilibrium (1991)" by Cathedral and at times of "Lost Paradise (1990)" by Paradise Lost. There´s definitely that distinct early nineties doom/death metal sensibility about the music. Influences from acts like Black Sabbath and Pentragram also shine through though.

The riffs and the beats are crushingly heavy and the growling vocals are abysmal and delivered in a beastly fashion. The latter do become a bit monotone during the playing time, but it´s a minor issue. What makes "Effigies of Evil" such a great doom/death metal album, in addition to the dark atmosphere, are the lead guitar work. Great twisted harmonies and soaring sorrowfilled leads that time and again elevate the tracks to greatness. It never becomes melodic in a conventional sense, so there´s no compromising the darkness and the grit of the music.

Packed in a grand and powerful sound production and featuring excellent musicianship, "Effigies of Evil" comes off as a high quality doom/death metal release on all parameters and a 4 star (80%) rating is more than deserved.
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Time Signature wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Me too... it does have some Cathedral-like elements, but not to the extent that Hooded Menace can be called clones or rip-offs.
UMUR wrote:
more than 2 years ago
I like how "old school" it is, without sounding like a retro clone...
J-Man wrote:
more than 2 years ago
I've listened to this one a few times, but it has yet to really 'grab' me. I'll probably give it a few more spins and see if my opinion changes!

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