Atolah – Relics

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Uncommonly for a doom metal trio, Atolah are from Perth, Australia and with their debut EP they’ve made music that is equally uncommon in the doom sub-genre; instrumental doom. Even for just half an hour fuzzy, instrumental funeral doom is not particularly interesting and can really only serve the purpose of background music for fans of the slower side of doom metal. There are some faster passages, like the end of El Duce, which lean more towards stoner metal, but without vocals or solos to speak of there’s very little to focus on like there is with more varied instrumental bands like Karma To Burn, although song titles like Weedy Gonzales probably indicate the mood they’re trying to create here. Well excuted within its small segment of doom, this is only likely to appeal to fans of drone and real funeral doom die-hards. For those people it’s hard to imagine it getting much better. Less hardcore doom listeners should probably look elsewhere.

Written by Andy Lye
More: Doom Metal, EPs, Instrumental, Quick.Play Reviews, Atolah