Brazil has got to be the metal capital of South America. The country probably has more metal bands per capita than all other South American states combined. From Brazilian multifarious metal community come Mythological Cold Towers, specializing in classy doom-death metal. Of course, it would be nice if the band brought into the music something from their own culture instead of trying to sound as European as possible, but at least they deserve credit for mastering the fundamentals of the style they are working with. Yes, it would be hard to tell them apart from their European counterparts (influence of early Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride is well on display here), but what they do - they do fairly well. MCT possess compact sound and a knack for decent melodic leads, not to mention their ability to build thick drapes of gloomy emotions without which you just cannot call yourself a doom band. The depressing doom atmosphere, of course, totally prevails here, as it is superimposed over strong death metal background. Keys are present yet used with restraint. Pace is obviously sluggish, but never overwhelmingly so. Overall, this is a decent but not groundbreaking or a must-have work because the band were still developing their song writing skills at that point in time. Doom fans should find this album enjoyable, but everyone else should proceed to MCT's follow up work, which is said to be much more impressive and accomplished.

© 2001 boris