Review by JD on September 8, 2013.

With great curiosity I am looking at a CD in my hands. An odd drawing of a woman surrounded by flowers and clutching a bunch of arrows adorns the cover and that seemed cool enough. What would be on this disk musically was a far cry from what it was that I expected.

This band from Wisconsin is labeled Psychedelic Rock/Doom Metal, but I have a slight problem with that assessment. I see a band more apt to be labeled a Psychedelic/Atmospheric Rock that tagging it with Doom. It has a few smatterings of spots on the album that have the enjoyable heavy riffs that are reminiscent of early Sabbath, but it is rooted more towards acts like Blue Oyster Cult mixed with some hippy music of the late sixties or early seventies.

Jex ‘Jessica Bowen’ Thoth (Lead Vox) may be one amazing vocalist, but even her wonderful voice can’t help this collection of songs. Her power and sense of melody not to mention the insane amount of pure emotion she emanates out does carry the music along like a bowing crutch for a fat man, yet the limping music cannot be saved. I get what they might have been doing, but the musicality of the band is below what Jex can do. She does carry the bulk of the load here – but the element in the music does not match up to her amazing talents – and the album falls flat and dies.

If you are looking for good and powerful Doom Metal or metal in general, go elsewhere… if you want elevator music made exclusively for the extremely clinically depressed – this might be for you. Either way, most metallists will not get into this album. As a musician, it makes some sense in a little way, as a headbanger; it confuses the fuck out of me. It does have smatterings of metal like qualities – just not enough to do anything at all.

Its sad…very fucking sad indeed. Jex Thoth could match up to anyone out there – she needs a real band that can match her incredible talent pool.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 5
Atmosphere: 4 (vocals get all the points here, not enough to help though)
Production: 4
Originality: 3
Overall: 3

Rating: 3.8 out of 10