11th Hour, The - 'Burden Of Grief'

Gorefest’s Ed Warby pulls a near one-man show along with growling shotgun rider Rogga Johansson from Edge of Sanity in a sharply-focused doom endeavor.

Napalm Records, who manage to bring some of the most cutting edge metal out of Europe, has an undeniable knack for managing the differing sectors of the genre to the point a hefty portion of its roster rises above the norm. Already housing the melodic doom troupe Isole, Napalm ushers a tag-team collaboration between Ed Warby of Gorefest and Rogga Johansson of Edge of Sanity with their somber and harmonious ear blast, The 11th Hour. Their intricate debut project Burden of Grief is sure to please most doom fans who’ve heard it all.

As Warby fields all of the instrumentation and clean vocals in The 11th Hour, his blend of Celtic Frost-esque strumming and string choking (he literally writhes all over the extensive “Origins of Mourning”) is Burden of Grief’s highest degree of articulation. Warby’s guitar solos are poignant and stylish amidst their funereal compositions, while his piano and synth plunges scattered throughout the project intercut each of the six songs with whispery grace.

Warby could easily have commanded the attention of his audience without the addition of Johansson’s twisted ralphs. At times Warby drifts into Mike Patton’s more tempered vocal pastures, which makes the escalation of his metallic rises sophisticated and prevailing. However, Johansson keeps Burden of Grief submerged within its intended murky premise: a dying man tormented by his past as he implores for last-minute redemption. Johansson’s demonic grumblings in this context personify the cryptic Heironymous Bosch painting “Death and the Miser” and the scheme tailors itself with gloom-ridden assurance.

As the tempo of Burden of Grief is mostly set on the same dragging pentameter (with a slight step-up on “Atonement”) from the opening track “One Last Smoke” straight through to “Longing for Oblivion,” The 11th Hour weaves its prolonged story of aggrieved repentance with vigilant detail. As doom metal continues to evolve past its historically singular chord sequences implying despair with long-held plucks, The 11th Hour, like Isole, Opeth and My Dying Bride stakes a dynamic and elegant purpose to their far-flung fugue. Burden of Grief is a largely-compelling album of artistic expression where death has its moments of unnerving beauty amidst its inherent terror.