UMUR "A Feast of Virgin Souls" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US doom metal act Wooden Stake. The album was released through Razorback Recordings in March 2015. Wooden Stake was formed in 2010 by bassist/vocalist Vanessa Nocera and guitarist/drummer/keyboard player Wayne Sarantopoulos. The band released quite a few EPs and splits before releasing their debut full-length studio album "A Feast of Virgin Souls" in 2011. There´s been a lineup change since the debut as Wayne Sarantopoulos has been replaced by William Wardlaw.

The music on the album is horror themed doom metal, which primarily draws influence from 70s/80s doom metal, but features a combination of clean female vocals and higher pitched aggressive distorted vocals, which isn´t a feature in the more old school part of the genre. The music features a dark occult atmosphere which is further enhanced by the lyrics. Songtitles like "Rise from the Bleeding Coffin", "Alzbeta: The Devil's Bitch", and "Dragged Through the Rotted Catacombs", tell the story better than words. In addition to the primary doom metal sound, the band also draws on thrash metal ("Cross-scalded Flesh") and traditional heavy metal ("Dragged Through the Rotted Catacombs"), so Wooden Stake is not a one-trick pony, and "A Feast of Virgin Souls" is relatively varied within the genre.

The band is pretty well playing and delivers the music in an organic fashion, which suits the material well. Lead vocalist Vanessa Nocera has a somewhat flat monotone clean vocal delivery, and her distorted vocals sound a bit processed to my ears, but it overall comes well together. It´s especially intriguing when she doubles the cleans and the distorted vocals. William Wardlaw´s guitar leads is an asset that deserves a mention too.

The sound production is relatively well sounding although if I have to mention a slight issue it would be that the drums lack an organic sound, which would have suited the material better. Upon conclusion "A Feast of Virgin Souls" is a great sophomore studio album by Wooden Stake though, and it´s obvious this is an act with great potential. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Dungeon Prayers & Tombyard Serenades" is the debut full-length studio album by US doom metal act Wooden Stake. The album was released in March 2011 by Razorback Records. The band was formed in 2010 by basist/ vocalist Vanessa Nocera and guitarist, drummer and keyboard player Wayne Sarantopoulos and are already responsible for several EPs and split releases.

The music on "Dungeon Prayers & Tombyard Serenades" is filthy, organic sounding old school doom metal. One of the main attractions in the music are the vocals and the horror/ occult themed lyrics by Vanessa Nocera. Vanessa Nocera delivers some really convincing raspy extreme type vocals, but also speaking and clean vocals. The variation in the vocal department really gives the songs on the album an extra dimension. The songs are mostly slow-paced but there are mid-paced sections too and it´s obvious the band understand the importance of variation and memorability. They never betray their downright filthy doom metal sound though and "Dungeon Prayers & Tombyard Serenades" comes off as a very consistent album.

The album is raw and purposely underproduced, giving the album a very organic and simple sound which is perfect for the songs.

It´s not always doom metal releases are able to bring out enthusiasm in me, because of the slow pace and often repetitive riff structures that many acts in the genre seem to favour, but Wooden Stake really took me by surprise. They deliver the full package. Intricate songwriting, filthy dark atmosphere and a murky organic production to boot. Fans of filthy old school doom metal, who in addition to clean female vocals ( not of the angelic type), can appreciate raspy extreme vocals should take notice of this album. A 4 star rating is fully deserved.