Nomad Son – The Eternal Return

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Between Nomad Son and his other band, Forsaken, Albert Bell is giving Malta a strong name for epic doom metal, having released two of the best albums of 2009, one with each band, and now one of the best of 2010. Carrying on where The First Light left off, most of the same comparisons and influences can be heard, like the main riff to Sigma Draconis coming straight out of Candlemass‘s repertoire, or Guilty As Sin kicking off with a solid Black Sabbath riff, but beyond that the band have tried to get more aggressive. Jordan Cutajar’s traditional heavy metal vocals bite harder, with more King Diamond screams, than before and the riffs feel slightly heavier, with a little less prominence given to the keyboards/organ. Epic eleven-minute centrepiece Winds of Golgotha will immediately hook fans of Reverend Bizarre, who were genre leaders in long, multi-faceted doom songs, taking in all areas of the doom spectrum from slow to fast and soft to heavy, and remarkably they manage the same thing with equally epic closing brace The Eternal Return and Throne of Judgement – which is littered with Bill Ward-esque drum fills from Edward Magri – despite these being far shorter (6:13 and 7:41 respectively). So more of the same in a sense from Nomad Son, who will play their first ever UK shows in February 2011, and all of the same incredibly high standard they set themselves with their commercial debut in 2009. Although there are a lot of obvious influences from the pantheons of doom, Nomad Son have created their own sound combining classic doom elements with Cutajar’s unique vocals, which are scratchier and higher than the usual melancholic doom drone. The First Light was clearly no fluke and Nomad Son have a bright future in the re-emerging doom landscape.

Written by Andy Lye
More: 2010, Albums, Doom Metal, Quick.Play Reviews, Nomad Son