Lo-Ruhamah - s/t

Ok, music like this isn't supposed to come from Missouri. There's gotta be a mis-print in the liner notes.  Music like this should be coming from Scandinavia or someplace in that general region. But hey, us Americans have been criticized for way too long for doing nothing but putting out a bunch of crappy metalcore clones. It's about time that some bands start breaking from the pack and playing some real metal, and that's exactly what Lo-Ruhamah intends to do. 

On this, their first EP, this talented band offers up a plate of delicious metal mixing death and black metal elements with folk music to create something that us Americans rarely see coming from this side of the big pond. As for the styles the band mixes, this is also being advertised as a mix of goth too, but it's not that big of an influence at all in my opinion, so I'm not going to place much weight on that comparison. This is more mid-paced to sometimes fast death metal with some occasional doomy sections. Think a huge Opeth influence (Orchid/Morningrise-era on the opening track, and more recent ala MAYH with the remaining tracks) with a little groove and bass lines ala Mexican metallers, Lament. Then the vocals are a mix of very raspy black vocals ala some of the metalcore bands of today with a little touch of Emperor, and then some high-end death growls. While the band does tend to sometimes overdo a particular riff (maybe just to get all the lyrics crammed in there), overall they do a great job of utilizing a good amount of variety within each song. Often, they will be blazing along, only to slow the pace down and hit you with some haunting folkish guitar playing. No sooner than you feel you can rest, then the band storms back in with the brutal aggression. Reminding you that yes, our main goal here is metal and you best not think we are going to let you relax on our watch.

To round out this release, the artwork includes cool graveyard photos, band photo, and a logo designed by Samuel Durling (Endtime 
Productions/Mental Destruction). They could've done more with the cover though as it's quite simple. Production could stand a little improvement as well, but it's still very listenable and shouldn't be much of a bother.

My final thought...very nice debut! Can't wait for the upcoming full length!

Rating: 79/100

Review By: Matt Morrow

Label: Bombworks Records

Total Songs: 4

Total Time: 21:40

Tracklisting: 1. Burden of Reason, 2. The Birthright of Cain, 3. In Mourning's Arms, 4. He Awoke and Came to Me While I Was Sitting Shiva.

Best Songs: 2 & 4

Band Lineup: J. Grant Griffin - Vocals/Bass, Harry Frederick Pearson - Drums/Piano/Vocals, Matthew Alan Mustain - Guitar/Vocals.

Band Website: http://www.lo-ruhamah.com