Search - Bohren & der Club of Gore :: Dolores

Another fantastic release of doomy jazz, 4 1/2 stars!

MutantChaos | 04/05/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I love Bohren & der Club of Gore and every single one of their releases. Fantastic black/doom metal inspired jazz that is truly unique.



If you've heard them before, "Dolores" is more of the same which, much like AC/DC or The Ramones, is not a bad statement to make. This album is a bit more distinguished because the songs are shorter this time around (10 in an hour instead of the last album's 5 tracks) which gives it a bit more variety, but it retains the same feel all of their albums do.



Now if you haven't heard them before - imagine cool smooth instrumental jazz played at an achingly slow pace with a touch of melancholy, while managing to be both soft and heavy at the same time. And when I say it is inspired by black metal or doom metal don't misunderstand, this is not metal with jazz elements like Cynic or Athiest. Not to say anything negative about that style, but this is just a different animal altogether, and there is not a harsh guitar to be found here. This is truly jazz, but played with the feel and vibe of doom and black metal (or goth). It is sublime, and I cannot imagine people who listen to dark jazz or darker rock (metal, post punk or goth) wouldn't love this. Bohren are the gateway to jazz for fans of Thergothon, Skepticism, Electric Wizard, Black Sabbath, Darkspace, Paysage D'Hiver, Sunn O)), Joy Division or The Cure.



I gave "Dolores" 4 1/2 stars like I would most of their catalog. 4 1/2 is a great rating, but why not 5? Well, because although I thought it was great, it didn't totally blow me away to earn the 5 like 2002's "Black Earth" did, but I would chalk that up to "Black Earth" being my first experience with Bohren & der Club of Gore more than anything else. It is entirely possible that if I had heard this first, I'd have given it a 5 and "Black Earth" a 4 1/2 because most of their output is so similar; and you can change that statement to fit the description of any other Bohren record - I love them all, but B.E. was my first taste, and so it had the most impact on me personally. By the way, please don't let this turn you off. Despite the similarity, each record does have it's own unique feel and all of them are worthy additions to your record collection."