Band's List Death Doom Seidr (USA) For Winter Fire

Doom Metal can be challenging for most people. Not only the slow paced music may rebuke most listeners but even in the genre a few bands add extra difficulty. We knew already challenging bands in the Doom Death area, be it dISEMBOWELMENT or Dark Millennium. Seidr take it yet to another level transforming their music into something that may look like it still encompasses Doom Death but in reality goes much further into new realms.

Besides the “common” Death Metal growls which are a trademark for the genre, musically speaking Seidr play in another league than other Doom Death acts like My Dying Bride or Winter. Even though it retains some “aggressive” parts scattered throughout the record the band chose to play a very atmospheric music that sounds much more like Post-Rock the way bands like Godspeed You! Black Emperor or Hrsta play it than something you'd expect from a Metal band.

People, including a few friends of mine, will soon see in this a sign that something new(er) is being created, maybe some will even insist it’s something of a new genre. Post-Doom? Not that stupid if you come to think of it. Doom Metal bands that indeed incorporated such Post-Rock in their music do exist already and musical similarities may be found between Seidr and bands like Asunder, The Gault or better still Woebegone Obscured. Still, these bands retained much of their crushing, heavy Doom Metal sounds where Seidr seem to have lost them along the way much like Negative Plane transform Black Metal in yet another thing.

As Asunder were able to induce sonic landscapes of grandeur, Seidr open up vast horizons, it’s not hard to picture great pine forests or grassy plains spreading for ever and ever. It’s desolate and beautiful at the same time as nature can be. In that way, you’d sense something of a Pagan feel, some may even say a Hippie thing much like the recent offerings of Wolvserpent except Seidr don't rely too much on the droning pleasant effect but rather offer complex songwriting and soothing riffing a la Jesu.

It may feel as you read these lines that I haven’t been able to grasp the whole thing and you’d probably be right in a way. Seidr’s music is a bit too complex for just a simple review and would require numerous listens to really start and get the right feeling about it. Something that sort of prevents this adventure unfortunately is the length of most songs. Though lengthy tracks may be rather be the norm than the exception in Doom Metal, it does seem however that Seidr lose us and themselves along the way making it sometimes very hard to tell one song from another and since the album closes well over one hour it does indeed kill some of its replay value.

Seidr have given us something to talk about and while the beauty of the songs may not be questioned, the “ennui” factor is something to consider if you were thinking about acquiring the record. It’s still a very original record that shows promises for Seidr, of course, but for plenty of bands who could potentially develop this “new” genre into something flourishing AND entertaining.