The Doomed to Loneliness

Another Russian Doom band with a massive, 75-plus-minute-long album. Sacratus are not bad, and this disc is okay, but they really are not doing much to excite me. The truth is that Doom has higher standards for riffs than almost any other subgenre, as you are playing slow and so the riffs have to generate a lot of interest. You can't try to carry a Doom album on vocals and keys alone, it just won't fly. The guitar sound here is decent, but the riffs are almost nil, as they pretty much just provide rhythm for the vocalist to bark over. Serge Lords has a decent dry growl, but he doesn't vary it enough to be more than a distraction. The melodic riffs are okay, but nothing to get worked up about, and the keys are strictly amateur night. This disc is trying hard (at 78 freaking minutes, I would say too hard) but it just is not very good.