ALBUM REVIEW: As The Shadows Fall (re-issue) – Godsend

Norwegian doom metallers GODSEND originally formed back in the mists of time of 1991 in Norway and their debut flew under the radar of many. Come 2020 and Petrichor Records seek to rectify that with their re-issue of As The Shadows Fall that was painstakingly restored and remastered by Erwin Hermsen of Toneshed Studios [TROUBLE, PESTILENCE, MALEVOLENT CREATION, DEAD HEAD].

The road to hell, as they say, is paved with good intentions. Those good intentions were perhaps to expose a new generation of doom fans to a piece of genre history. Frankly, this piece should’ve been left where it was found. As The Shadows Fall opens with Slaydream, the best song on here by a country mile but one that still fails to leave a mark. Opening with feedback to a mid-paced groove and Dan Swanö’s deep bass vocals, it’s a promising start certainly. The chorus, however, sees him using an ever so slightly higher register that has echoes of grunge without any of its appeal. There’s also a recurring cowbell in parts that, when the song speeds up around midway through, seems to go completely out of time. 

Most songs fare little better, composed of dirgey, overwrought doom that plods without purpose. The guitars are often droning and uninspired and vocals are, while impressively low, frequently monotonous. Some tracks buck the doom trend but these moments only serve to make everything worse. With The Wind Comes The Rain sounds for all the world like knock-off grunge with a vocal cadence that is thoroughly unappealing. Penultimate song Walking The Roads Of The Unbeheld similarly bucks the trend though is a short, acoustic pseudo-grunge/radio-rock that sounds like a totally different band and is woefully out of place on this album. 

Swanö’s longer, held notes occasionally overshoot and end up sounding flat which is jarring to say the least. This is redeemed somewhat by the use of layered vocals in a few tracks such as Beyond The Mist Of Memories that are a huge improvement over the usual fare, injecting some real moments of interest. My Lost Love is a standout song too, with its clean picked guitar and minimalist drumming that swells throughout into the closing solo that’s sadly let down by its ending. 

Speaking of endings, one thing that GODSEND really suffer from here is a criminal lack of them. Fade-outs to songs are fine and, if done well, are very effective. Unfortunately, they’re not used that way here. My Lost Love is definitely the worst offender, its fade lasting a whole three seconds that make it feel as if whatever it’s played through has a faulty volume switch. Almost every song on the album employs this fade out trick and it’s always poorly-judged and too short. Only one of the included demo tracks, Starfall, bucks this and fades over about thirty seconds but does little else to justify its ten minute length. 

It would be kind to call this a mixed bag – there are certainly some good moments like the layered vocals, some solid guitar work in the solos and decent riff ideas but the good is far outweighed by the rest. Tonally it’s incredibly inconsistent and neither the doom or grungier elements are executed well and make for very uncomfortable bedfellows. Vocally it’s not a standout performance either and overusing the harsh fade out robs songs of their momentum. It feels like the band didn’t know how else to close the songs other than rush them out, which is surely the antithesis of doom. Silence Of Time even fades out once then back in, very briefly at the end and this doesn’t feel deliberate either.

The promotional material heralds this as a defining moment for the band and that they never reached such heights again. Judging by the material on display here, it should’ve stayed in its murky corner of the history books. The only godsend here is when it finally ends. 

Rating: 4/10

As The Shadows Fall is out now via Petrichor.