ALBUM REVIEW: Conviction – Conviction

It’s only halfway through January and there’s already been plenty to be miserable about; fortunately, CONVICTION are here to soundtrack the dreary month with their self-titled debut. The band peddle doom very much in the vein of SAINT VITUS and early CATHEDRAL, with mammoth riffs and a dense, foggy atmosphere. 

After a short instrumental opener in Prologue: Affliction, first song Voices of the Dead gets things moving – though that’s perhaps the wrong way to describe it, given the glacial pace. Thick guitars roll in atop thundering drums before the line “It’s cold outside” opens the track proper. The vocals are forlorn and, for the most part, cleanly sung. Harsher vocals do make an appearance – though only a little one – in parts of Curse of the Witch.

The scant use of them lends them additional gravitas to an already heavy proposition, one that works very well. The band also make use of backing tracks of terrified screams here that lend a schlocky horror vibe akin to a B-movie; these don’t appear anywhere else on the album so the track itself is a bit of an outlier in some regards. 

The clean vocal stylings throughout put CONVICTION firmly in trad doom territory though it is tinged with gothic rock and there are occasional flourishes of PARADISE LOST such as on Wrong Life. The band aren’t afraid to turn it up a notch on the solos either, with Castles Made of Shame featuring some particularly face-melting fretwork. Doom is synonymous with long songs and Conviction is no exception.

Despite the promise and quality musicianship there are some tests of endurance here such as earlier in Wrong Life and the eleven minute runtime of closer My Sanctuary. That said, despite its run time and starting at a glacial pace, the song is the most varied of the album and the one that least feels its length. Its solo section around the four to five minute mark is lush and tugs at the heartstrings, though the choral inspired moments fall a little flat comparatively. 

Conviction is an impressively well-formed debut that happily wears its influences on its sleeve without aping them excessively. For the most part, there’s enough variety here to hold interest including faster moments on Curse of the Witch and Castles Made of Shame – though the latter doesn’t get above a mid-paced stomp. The end result on Conviction is seven tracks post-intro of unhurried, riff-centric doom that, while it doesn’t break any new ground, treads the well-worn path with only the occasional stumble. 

Rating: 7/10

Conviction is out now via Argonauta Records.

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