It is not a secret that I’m quite fond of the London Doom Metal scene, and especially of the band called 'The River'. I have attended most of their latest shows, one of which was while supporting another underground Doom Metal act called Centurions Ghost. I knew nothing of the latter prior to the gig, so I didn’t even know whether I wanted to stay at the venue after 'The River' had finished their set.

I was part of a big group of people though, and since they decided to stay until the very end, I had no other choice but to do the same.

Well, I am really happy that I did stay that night, because I had the chance to be introduced to one very promising Doom Metal band, the likes of which is very hard to be found these days. Even though Centurions Ghost has only been around for the last two years, what I came across were five well-coordinated musicians who share the same passion for the music that they play.

The club was not even half full, but the quintet gave all that they had for the people who decided to invest both their money and their free time to them. That night, I spoke to the band’s frontman, James Begley, who was kind enough to give me a promo copy that contains two of their most recent songs, 'Devil’s Disciple' and 'Requiem for the Haunted Heart'.

This twelve minute Demo is just a taste of the band’s forthcoming release 'Insidious Majesty' but more than enough to raise your interest in the band. There are many ways of trying to describe the band’s sound and even more bands to be named as their influences.

Well, I believe that the band sounds as raw as Venom on their first three albums, but also as Doomy as Cathedral of the 'Forest of Equilibrium' era (the influences from early Cathedral are more obvious in 'Requiem for the Haunted Heart').

As for the recordings: both songs were recorded at Buspace Studios in London by Paul Smith, and quality of the sound is much better than the ones that we normally have from similar demo releases.

The best way to find out what this band is all about is to see them live. That is beyond a doubt their strongest selling point. I will be more than happy to get my hands on 'Insidious Majesty' once it’s released and I will definitely pay my respects to them by attending their next gig. If this band is lucky enough to draw the attention of a record label that will be willing to invest in them, we will pretty soon be talking about the new best thing that has happened in the UK Doom Metal scene.

Review by John Stefanis

***½