When the discographic labels were yet to fully discover the strong commercial value of female voices, bowed instruments and foreground keyboards or electronic sounds, we still could listen to
a good doom metal, heavy and exasperated.
Therefore this cd by Deinonychus sends me directly back to the time when this genre was widespread resounding with Cathedral and Anathema (when the latter were still away from peculiarly '70's sounds).
And of the latter band we can listen the influences in some guitar riffs, or even more generally speaking we can spot parts in perfect prime-time Paradise Lost's style.
A characteristic of Deinonychus is the alternation between strong parts and symphonic excerpts; this makes me think that this band could still be, with this album, on a moment of decision about which shade they have to favour in the future: the typically doom heaviness, or the more topical
symphonic atmospheres.
Let's keep talking about this album, to find out that the tracks give a good continuity to the final result, which therefore becomes more than likeable, and very involving for the doom afficionados. A genre that recalls, as said before, the old Anathema and the first Paradise Lost; and yet it must be
pointed out that we are not facing songs that lack originality, because the riff wade in the spaces of a genre nowadays almost forgotten in its original form.
In my opinion i'd rather abandon the use of keyboards or at least I'd like to see it discontinued in favour of the guitars, not from a compositive point of view but rather for a better doom sound - with this I'm not saying that in this work guitars are to be considered secondary instruments -.
In conclusion, the 11 tracks of this album make this band very interesting and drive us to follow Deinonychus further in the future.

Lucas Demon

deinonychus@doom-metal.com