WOODEN STAKE

The team of bassist/vocalist/lyricist Vanessa Nocera and guitarist/drummer/composer Wayne Sarantopoulos really hit upon something special with the formation of occult/horror doom outfit WOODEN STAKE. The combination of Sarantopoulos' mighty, dread spreading riffs and Nocera's macabre tales and behemoth bass lines constitute a big reason why "Dungeon Prayers & Tombyard Serenades" is such a compelling release. As is often the case with successful collaborations, there is a bit more to it than that.

Hugely important to any doom release are the feelings that arise from the atmosphere created. On "Dungeon Prayers & Tombyard Serenades", you'll feel the temperature drop and soon be consumed with feelings of utter dread and uneasiness. Furthermore, the musical vibe is one of towering might created through those dark, twisted riffs and the impossibly heavy bass tones. Immense value is then added by Nocera's lyrics, ones to which you'll pay strict attention. On "Skullcoven" when Nocera sings "Face to face in a long black cloak, you impale him with your sword", the image is crystal clear and stays with you. Related images are abundant throughout the disc and Nocera's vocal repertoire of growls, shrieks, and clean apparitional singing serves to set whatever mood is most appropriate to the song.

No matter the length of a track, listener interest is kept through because of the well written riffs, but also through the myriad shifts in tempo, transitional breaks, percussive accents, and penetrating bass lines. A few examples demonstrate the point, such as the spooky, melodic riff that shifts to an up-tempo BLACK SABBATH burst on "Salem, 1692" or the subtler, though no less impacting, movement from melancholic crawl to dark plod on "Tortured into Eternal Repose". The most gripping arrangement of the bunch may be the aforementioned "Skullcoven", a meaty bastard that tends to either grab by the neck and shake or chill and stiffen the bones. Even in the case of the comparatively linear "Anguished Atonement", rapt attention is forced by virtue of the cut's freezing winds and bottom-crawling, threatening presence.

WOODEN STAKE has been one prolific act in a short period time, having released several albums of varying length and format. But it is "Dungeon Prayers & Tombyard Serenades" with which you should begin your descent into the abyss. Disappointment is not in your future.