adg211288 Endless (2013) is the debut EP of US doom metal act Mount Salem. The group originally released it off their own back in 2013 but after being picked up by Metal Blade Records the EP was reissued in 2014 in a slightly extended format. It's the later version that I have.

Mount Salem are the latest act I've encountered to join the ranks of female fronted retro sounding doom metal/psychedelic rock acts, a group that includes the likes of Blood Ceremony, Jex Thoth and Avatarium. Comparisons to Blood Ceremony in particular are pretty valid to my ears when talking about the music found on Mount Salem's Endless but the other band is set apart by their use of folksy flute playing, which Mount Salem doesn't use here. Instead the four piece band play raw doom metal riffs straight out of a bygone era, sometimes augmented by some organ played by singer Emily Kopplin whose powerful voice and singing style suits the music perfectly and stirs up the occult vibes that this type of act is known for. The music on Endless is a notch heavier and more metal orientated than Blood Ceremony's most recent effort The Eldritch Dark (2013) though, so while the two acts and others can comfortable be mentioned in the same breath I do not feel like I am listening to a clone act here.

There are six songs on the original EP and eight on the Metal Blade Records reissue. While I think the EP is a more than worthwhile effort with the two extra songs The Tower and Mescaline II taken out of the equation their addition is a big plus in the favour of Endless as the new running time of about 43 minutes makes it come across more like a full-length album.

While Endless doesn't impress me as much as certain releases by the similar artists to Mount Salem it's a strong first release from the group, one that hints at potential to seriously challenge the competition in due course. 4 Stars.

83/100

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/mount-salem-endless-t3711.html)