Procession are a band for whom being clad in black is not nearly dark enough to suit their tastes. Playing a beautifully melancholic form of Doom that sits, in its majestic and morose manner, somewhere between Black Sabbath and Candlemass with several shades of the late, lamented Reverend Bizarre thrown in for good measure, Procession seem to have both the talent and the attitude to live up to the lofty press-release claim that they could succeed Reverend Bizarre as leaders of the Doom scene.
Opening with the none-more-Black-Sabbath ‘Hyperion’, a brief scene-setting introductory track, it springs to mind as the pristine guitars ring out that the only thing missing is the tolling of a bell. Meanwhile the guitars are suitably funereal and the vocals vaguely operatic with a Candlemass feel that is entirely welcome. The guitars, however, are rather tighter than Candlemass – almost opting for a stately My Dying Bride feel with a crystal clear production job rendering the whole thing rather like being hit over the head with a hammer wrapped in blood-red, crushed velvet. The title track segues straight out of its introduction with a galloping bass that stirs the senses before a mighty riff kicks in and everything moves up a notch in terms of energy and power. Vocally this is a revelation, with a strong operatic feel to Felipe Plaza Kutzbach’s vocals that never gets out of control or over the top but which adds an authority and power to the music that is more Ronnie James Dio than Ozzy Osbourne and is never less than impressive. Equally Felipe’s guitars burn brightly while fluid solos cut across the bass-laden music in a manner that would surely impress even the dark lord Iommi himself.
Having impressed with a strong opening, the band continue to roll for high stakes with ‘the road to gravegarden’ which takes the atmosphere of Black Sabbath’s title track and realigns it for the modern age with that beautiful production noted earlier and a guitar riff that is both stunningly heavy and yet possessed of a morbid swing that does indeed recall the majestic might of Reverend Bizarre although the sense of melody here is perhaps greater. It is a fantastic track – epic, brave and inventive, yet firmly rooted in Doom tradition with a nod to Candlemass’ ever-green ‘Nightfall’ album amidst the despair. Striking an even heavier pose with ‘’Chants of the nameless’, the band seem to be possessed of an Albert Whichfinder-esque desire to crush the living spirit from out of their listeners with mammoth, endlessly ringing riffs and vocals that ache with feeling. This is doom metal on the grandest scale with each track a mini-masterpiece in its own right with the guitars taking on the aspect of a vast organ grinding out endless gothic symphonies at Cathedral-levelling volumes in the dead of night and my only regret is not having discovered the might of Procession before because after spending a night with nothing but this album on repeat play I am utterly hooked by the sonic splendour of this exceptionally heavy three-piece.
Opening with a slow drum assault, the aptly titled ‘tomb of doom’ is a none-more-slow, macabre vision that is pure Black Sabbath, right down to the feeling of creeping dread that accompanies the funereal guitar riffs and trudging bass. Like many of the songs here it’s a lengthy composition that takes minutes before vocals arrive to break up the sludgy guitars, but when the vocals do appear they are shot through with the black of darkest night and an almost classical intensity that is much out Carmen’s operatic despair as it is heavy metal and you’re again reminded of Candlemass at the very height of their powers. That only leaves ‘white coffin’ to round out this lengthy record with a bass-led introduction that, with a clap of thunder, suddenly explodes into life with a guitar riff that scolds light molten lead and closes the album with an almighty bang that removes any doubts you might have had about the fiercely burning passion that unites these three talented musicians.
Doom, along with black metal, remains one of the genres closest to my heart because it lacks any commercial sensibilities. Purveyors of both do so because they passionately believe in the music that they make and if they find followers along the way then that can only be considered a bonus. Terminally unfashionable, doom has long been the vanguard against the endless fripperies of trends in music and in metal in particular and if it is a scene oft-overlooked by mainstream magazines in the UK, well so be it – those who want to listen to something with some integrity will always find it. Procession are not so much ‘destroyers of the faith’ as keepers of a sacred flame and this album keeps the flame, lit years ago by Black Sabbath, proudly alight. The musicianship is excellent, the song-writing immaculate and the album presented with stunningly dark artwork. For fans of the genre, hell for fans of metal itself, this is a masterpiece well worth tracking down (especially if you can get one of the rare and beautiful vinyl copies) – do yourself a favour and get searching for it now.
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