MOURNSPIRE – Liminals of Profound Loss (Album Review)

So I haven’t done a review in a while until our leader, Decibel Geek website editor/staff writer Rich “The Meister” Dillon, asked me to review this new album by US doom metallers Mournspire from Fairfax Virginia. Their new album, Liminals of Profound Loss, self-released on November 10th, 2017.

So, we go into the first song which is called “An Empty Storm is the End”. It starts off really slow and moody setting a gothic doom feel straight away. You can imagine it coming from the halls of a deserted mansion or old church. The song then goes deeper and darker and even touches on a bit of Death Metal really getting dark and brutal. A really moody first song. We move onto the next song “Throes”. This one starts with a dark plodding riff that will get your head shaking with your devil horns in the air. The dark vocals take us to another place of suffering and again the brutal growl sends us to a dark place of metal that hasn’t been discovered before.

The next track is “Infamy of Blackened Crowns” which starts off nice and slow in a real quiet Doom sound with haunting vocal work that then again turns into the dark Death Metal sounding vocal. The guitars are dirty and sludgy with a real metal groove running through this song. “Enamored” is next and the tempo is a bit faster on this track. Again, when the growl kicks in it takes me back to seeing Obituary when I was in my teens. Another moody song with dark vocals which then alternates to haunting vocals. I love the switch up in vocals, it adds to this original sound.

“The Truest of Lamentations” has a lovely musical intro and then comes the deepest growl. A really deep and painful sound that gets you reaching for the bottom of your stomach. You know this is sent from the devil and this is the last sound you hear before you go into the inferno. Well, you get the idea. The next one, “Resplendent Doves Moan”, has a lovely doom sound. At the start, I love the transitions then into the dark growl and we are then transported to a much darker place of metal again. There is a deep soulful pain running through these tracks a real eery feel with some excellent musicianship in every song. “Monument” up next has again a haunting start with great plodding riffs which are running throughout these songs.

We continue with the Death Metal sounding vocals again. The haunting the last track is, “Wreathed in Ivy”, plods menacingly into another haunting and dark song with some great vocal sounds, guitar work and some lovely keyboard work in the middle. To sum this record up is hard as it is very unique. I wouldn’t say if you like Doom you will like this. I would more say if you like different sounds in your Death Metal this is for you. I like it. Good luck guys and see you on the road.

Mark 8 out of 10

BUY: Liminals of Profound Loss