SUBROSA - More Constant Than the Gods (2013)

Genre: Stoner Doom Metal

Label: Profound Lore Records

Rating: 5.5/10

I was a big fan of SubRosa's second release, No Help for the Mighty Ones, so I had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, I have to say I was let down. I'll go into why.

First track "The Usher" starts off with some clean guitar and soft vocals, and some violin. Then some masculine vocals come in, shortly followed by a duet. This goes on for a bit, and then the heavy guitars come in with the drums. This is undoubtedly a strong track. The main riff is very good. After the halfway point comes an oddly upbeat part that I must confess I do not like, neither do I think it fits. The ending to this song pretty much sticks to that form; slightly better, but still rather upbeat, and that is what, ironically, brings it down. The second track, "Ghosts of a Dead Empire," is a much heavier affair. It starts off great, but when the violins kick in, it sort of ruins the mood. The pizzicato violin in rhythm after that is a nice touch, but enough to save this song. "Cosey Mo" is the third track, and is much better than the previous two. It evokes the same feelings encountered on No Help... At 3:07 in the song, there's a very good tapping part on one of the guitars, and the rhythm riff, which is the main riff, is a solid one. The violin eventually plays a depressing part, which mostly reflects upon the thoughtfulness typically put into a SubRosa song. This track remains good throughout its entirety.

Track four is "Fat of the Ram." Immediately, it's uninteresting. I had to skip ahead several times. This song is such trash it's not even worth writing about. Next is "Affliction," which gets off to a weird and slow start. At least it has a good, semi-interesting guitar riff. Certainly a doomy song, and definitely SubRosa, but ultimately forgettable. The last track, "No Safe Harbor," starts off with a very good piano riff. Then what sounds like a woodwind comes in over that, harmonised by another, and then the singing starts softly, with the piano ever underneath. It's mostly non-guitar instruments, although those do come in eventually. Sort of an odd song. Not enough to save the album.

I was let down by this album. I had expected a lot more from SubRosa, given how high-quality No Help for the Mighty Ones was. Yet another Profound Lore release of late which has disappointed.