ALBUM REVIEW: Confessions – Lord Sin

LORD SIN is a mysterious and largely anonymous doom duo from Portugal. Having formed in 2020 they wasted no time releasing their debut album Portrait Of The Devil in October of that year. That record introduced the world to their mournful mix of funeral doom, harsh vocals and hypnotic musical arrangements, based largely around the three-part epic track Cathedral Of Dead Saints, a suite of songs that perfectly matches the group’s aesthetic of engulfing black robes and shrouded faces.

While that album was impressive in and of itself, one thing that really makes LORD SIN stand out from their peers is that the basis for their songs is largely improvised and recorded live, an approach the band has really thrown itself into for their sophomore effort Confessions. Having recorded the guitars and drums completely live, the duo have then added bass, leads, vocals and other instruments to mould each skeleton into something more fleshed out and fully formed. There is very little that sounds like aimless jamming, despite the shortest track on the album clocking in at just under seven minutes.

Opening with the appropriately titled Spectres the music initially sounds sparse, the first few bars nothing more than a fuzzy, chugging guitar accompanied by a simple but thudding four-four drum pattern. As the song progresses, though, it opens out into a funeral doom epic. Bleak leads and harsh vocals join the mix, recalling the likes of CATHEDRAL and PARADISE LOST. The Presence follows suit, bringing keyboards to the party – or perhaps that should be ‘wake’ – which add further layers of melancholy to the weighty foundation the band is consistently laying down.

At four minutes in we even catch glimpses of a vocal hook that almost acts as a chorus, such as a chorus can exist on a doom record. Given that these songs are mostly improvised live, the sense of direction and cohesion in each is genuinely impressive and The Presence is the first time on Confessions when that really becomes clear. Living Sin is another highlight. It lumbers along powerfully, its structure following an almost traditional verse-chorus-verse pattern, guitar tones weighed down with sorrow and providing a satisfying contrast to the sinister, spiteful vocal delivery.

Although impressive, and very enjoyable, these opening songs do all sound quite similar which admittedly isn’t unusual for a doom album but by the time the ten minutes-plus of Negligent and album closer Regret come round you do start to wonder whether LORD SIN might do better to try to improvise something that actually sounds improvised. So accomplished are they at writing in this way, there is little within the songs to suggest the energy or playfulness that comes with writing music on the spot, regardless of how enjoyable the powerful riffs, pounding drums and PALLBEARER-esque guitars might be.

Confessions is a very good album and fans of classic funeral doom will find a lot to like here. The songs are heavy, dark and atmospheric, the musicianship accomplished and the aural quality throughout is excellent, the drums high enough in the mix to add to the weight and give that classic doom feel. Just don’t expect anything you probably haven’t already heard before.

Rating: 7/10

Confessions is out now via Larvae Records.

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