Leaves of Zaqqum

Leaves of Zaqqum is the third album from Germany's Demon Incarnate, a band that plays a traditional, Sabbath-based doom full of chunky, reverb-laden riffs and clean singing. No stoner, no rock, just a thick blanket of fuzzy guitars that move right along because this band knows that playing slow is not the only way to play doom. The songwriting is quite good with cuts like "Lunar Majestic" and "Grave Worms" possessing a catchiness that doesn't sabotage the heaviness one iota. Demon Incarnate aren't coloring outside the lines, they just play doom from the Sabbath template, and they do it quite well indeed.