VALLENFYRE

Interesting (and sad) back story, star studded cast, and a wicked display of death/doom; that's the synopsis of VALLENFYRE's "A Fragile King". The best art is often created through tragedy and heartache. In bittersweet terms, that was the case when PARADISE LOST's Gregor Mackintosh (vocals/guitar) lost his father to cancer. The event led to Mackintosh returning to his musical roots, as memories of his father's love and support for his son's chosen craft came flooding back. What was created was not even meant to be heard. Fortunately for fans with a taste for doom/death, "A Fragile King" was born and offered to the world via Century Media release.

With the able assistance of guitarist Hamish Glencross (MY DYING BRIDE),guitarist Mully, bassist Scoot (DOOM, EXTINCTION OF MANKIND),and drummer Adrian Erlandsson (AT THE GATES, PARADISE LOST),a style that crosses traditional doom and early death metal with the utmost authenticity is heard through 11 inspired tracks. Admitted death metal influences that include NIHILIST and AUTOPSY shine through on crusty stomps like "Cathedral of Dread" and "Humanity Wept", both of which also remind of early GRAVE and DISMEMBER. But it is the doom-based material that shines brightest here. It is the sickening churn of songs like "Desecration" and the enveloping morbidity of "The Grim Irony" and "Seeds" through which Mackintosh bleeds out menace and purges thoughts from the darkest recesses of the mind. Indeed, the pall that hangs in the air is akin to a thick fog during a drizzling, cold evening, and it is the icy harmonies and suffocating melancholy squeezed out through the leads that conveys it. "My Black Siberia" is among the best examples. The atmosphere created is what comes across most convincingly, but the fact that the songs are written to ensure memory retention is what seals the deal. Mackintosh's intelligible growls add even more weight to the genuine heaviness of the compositions.

It is not surprising then that "A Fragile King" is an album that chills right down to the bone. When death comes it is with violent intensity and when the doom arrives it is with smothering heaviness and impenetrable darkness. Mackintosh wasn't seeking to create something new; he was bringing back the excitement inherent in his earliest exposure to the extreme and channeling the pain of a broken heart in ways both indirectly and directly tied to the grief of his loss. The end result defines heaviness.