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Ornamentos del Miedo : Este No Es Tu Hogar
Ornamentos Del Miedo impress on debut, achieving more than could be
expected at this stage of their existence. |
 |
| 'Este No Es Tu Hogar' is the debut release of Spain’s Ornamentos Del
Miedo. Pleasingly, their lyrics are all in Spanish, which I’ve been
studying for a while now so I have a reasonable grasp of what the band are
talking about. As delighted as I was when that was the case, I have to confess
that there’s really not much to report back on there. It’s just the same
misanthropic, self-pitying lyrics that you’ll find in most bands nowadays. And
yes, I will continue to refer to Ornamentos Del Miedo as a ‘band’
despite it just being one man.
When it comes to the musical side of things, however, there are numerous good things to write home about. I know that Funeral Doom is one of the most saturated sub-genres of Doom Metal today so I don’t expect much by way of a unique release. Ornamentos Del Miedo have done a good job on 'Este No Es Tu Hogar', though. They’ve matched up the right kind of emotional atmosphere to emotional lyrics, which seems to be a lot harder than it should be for most bands nowaday. This debut doesn’t struggle in that respect, however, and it makes for such good listening when a band follows a distinct path. Admittedly, I have to believe that a band can do a better job than this when it comes to vocals at certain points. I remarked earlier on in this review about them being all in Spanish but that’s purely based upon online sources because the vocals are so low in the mix that you can barely hear what’s being said anyway. As the album progresses, the band gets away with it more by deploying an Esoteric-esque fashion (i.e. reverberated vocals) but in general, I found it to be a bit of a sore point for the album. As I’ve already written in another preview today, when a band produces an album with such a clean production, it’s imperative that they’ve done everything meticulously because there’s nowhere to hide if they don’t. Musically, they’ve pulled everything off quite well, in my opinion. The atmosphere is one of longing and sadness, which was the aim, based upon the lyrics. The guitars haven’t overcooked the music. The keys do a superb job of maintaining the ponderous feel to the music. However, at times, they really let themselves down on the vocals front, as I said above. There are still more positives than negatives though, and for a debut, I have to admit that I’m suitably impressed. I mean, they’ve somehow managed to fuse the emotion of Funeral with the darkness of Esoteric, which I wouldn’t think a band would be able to do at this stage of their existence. Indeed, I would go as far as to say that the Spaniards sound very mature on this album. Nothing feels forced or rushed. Everything is patient, well- planned, and well-executed. As the album wound onward, I found myself being carried along with the band on their journey, which tells me they’ve done a good job. There’s a great deal of beauty, emotion, sadness, and hatred in this music without there being too much overlap or there being chunky, awkward transitions. Musically speaking, this is a seriously impressive Funeral Doom release, in my opinion. The parallels that can be drawn from the subtle transitions from vulnerable to vengeful are entirely relatable in life, and the band has captured such effortlessly. I still think Ornamentos Del Miedo messed up the vocals side of things too often for this album to be perfect, but for a debut release, I’m really very impressed. Great riffs, soaring solos, effortless control of songs, captivating atmosphere - what’s not to like? This Ornamentos Del Miedo attempt to bridge the gap between beautiful and terrifying is a must listen for any Funeral Doom fans out there. Click HERE to discuss this review on the doom-metal forum. |
| Tracklist : 1. Este No Es Tu Hogar 2. Ornamentos Del Miedo 3. Carne 4. Carminos Perdidos 5. Raices Podridas 6. Fragil Duration : Approx. 63 minutes Visit the Ornamentos del Miedo bandpage. |
