Rotting Kingdom - A Deeper Shade of Sorrow

ROTTING KINGDOM - A Deeper Shade of Sorrow (GODZ OV WAR Productions - CD 2020)

I didn't have a chance to hear the debut EP from Rotting Kingdom, but I can make it up with "A Deeper Shade of Sorrow", which I got from Godz Ov War Productions a while ago. I have to say that I hardly ever listen to this type of metal, so on one hand it was quite a challenge, but on the other a bit of refreshment from all that obscure stuff that mainly keeps my attention. 

What Rotting Kingdom offers is doom / death metal, but it’s not something what would be in the vein of Asphyx, Hooded Menace or Anatomia - which basically means death metal played in slow tempo. This is that doom death metal, which immediately brings you the memory of classic British doom scene and bands such as My Dying Bride or Anathema (without the soft vocals). Definitely Rotting Kingdom is a band, which steps into that category of music. You could find there also Ceremonium, Morgion, Katatonia, Enchantment, Novembers Doom... a lot of bands really. While I was listening to "A Deeper Shade of Sorrow" I realized how rarely I come back to them. This scene seems to be rather underrated nowadays (myself including, although occasionally some bands pop in, like Onirophagus), so it is interesting to see how such Rotting Kingdom will do and what reception they will get. I think they will do well, because "A Deeper Shade of Sorrow" is a very good album and all those, who like the old doom / death metal sound should pay attention to this new band and their debut. 

Obviously Rotting Kingdom doesn't do anything new or extraordinary, their music is just perfectly fitted into the doomy genre... Slow pace, a lot of melodic patterns, melancholic, sorrowful atmosphere - it's all there. Interestingly, there are no keyboards, violins, not even clean, crying vocals - which sort of became trademark for many other doom / death metal bands. Rotting Kingdom keeps it more traditional, with 100% growled vocals and I think it's great. As long as they have enough ideas to keep the listener interested and not bore him to death, it is fine. And you know, most of these songs here are like eight minutes long, so you need to know what to do to keep the listener awaken. I'm not gonna say that on "A Deeper Shade of Sorrow" everything is super exciting and amazing as fuck, because it is not. For me this is decent, very well played doom / death metal album, which sounds good enough to listen to it with pleasure. And I am quite sure that I will be coming back to it often. Best song here is "The Antechambers of Eternity", I think, it just has everything you want to hear from such band - and I like the heaviness of this song, its melodic side, great, long guitar lead... It just sounds awesome. I also like "Barren Harvest", for its diversity and a bit more uptempo parts, which give more energy to this album. 

So, good, solid effort from Rotting Kingdom. There’s CD and vinyl, so you could choose your preferable format, but give them a chance. 

Standout track: "The Antechambers of Eternity" 

Verdict: 70/100