For over thirty years now, this autumnal band from Chicago has been spreading its doom and gloom across the world. Although autumnal? This time, they start in June! However, the intro track June is not exactly a sign that things are going to sound sunnier or more cheerful this time around. Dreary, slowly struck keys make it clear that summer isn’t a celebration for everyone. And certainly not for the gravelly, half-singing, half-speaking vocalist Paul Kühr: “June is always cold inside!” He’s even glad to have made it through alive! Whether Paul is truly baring his soul here is another question entirely, since Major Arcana turns out to be a concept album based on the Tarot.
My colleague Marco Paasman noted in his review of their previous album – back in 2019 – that the band gave melody a prominent role. That’s no different on Major Arcana. It might even make sense, then, that this (former?) death-doom band now presents itself as dark metal. The title track still plays with various atmospheres though, the heavier, pounding sections gliding seamlessly into more melodic, floating guitar lines, which graciously return the favour. The transitions between growls and clean vocals – cleverly not always aligning with the shifts between heavy and lighter musical themes – are just as smooth. In the more restrained passages, Kühr’s baritone even leans toward the clean singing of Nick Holmes from Paradise Lost.
In Mercy and The Dance, the contrast between heavy and soft is a bit less and the dark metal identity of Novembers Doom is brought clearly to the fore. In the former, the growls make way for extended pleading vocals: “Doooon’t let me goooo!” Finger picked guitar lines take over from the heavy chords, and pace is traded in for atmosphere and long, drawn-out solos. It’s beautiful, but I’m not entirely sure it moves me. At times, it feels a bit too strained (and submissive?). The same might apply to the repeated “Save me” in the album’s most epic track, the wonderfully spacious Bleed Static, though here they cleverly throw in a growl underneath – and even a brief “Blegh!”. The Dance, unlike Mercy, does feature some punchier riffs and even a few grunts, but the choruses are unmistakably Gothic with a capital G. Here, it’s mainly the guitar solo that’s meant to bring the fire – and it absolutely delivers.
Paradise Lost has already been mentioned, and this band not only shares vocal style and stamina with them, but also the balance between more “hit-oriented” melodic work and heavier, more rebellious material. Enter Ravenous! “I am ravenous… and I take what I want” is spat out furiously over a firm death metal foundation. Although more direct, Novembers Doom really convinces in a song like this because so many bigger bands have already left this style behind – which means that the more obvious similarities with others are cleverly avoided (though one or two names do come to mind). An Eastern-tinged guitar solo plays over stomping riffs. Not necessarily groundbreaking, but 100% convincing. I love it.
Another standout is The Fool. What a beast of a track! Why? Because the emotions aren’t served as separate portions – they clash and intertwine. When Kühr delivers his despair with feeling – “I ignored the lies for far too long!” – the drums keep rattling underneath, expressing the pent-up energy that’s bound to erupt. And just when the vocals erupt into growls of rage, a glimmer of hope shines through in the guitar work. Top it all off with another fiery classical guitar solo and some hammering, crushing riffs and you’ve pretty much got the whole picture! Oh, and the mixing and mastering is handled by Dan Swanö, so I don’t even need to say that the sound is warm, full, and heavy – with space for every instrument and vocal layer. The more epic tracks on the album benefit from this immensely, of course.
So, variation is the name of the game on Novembers Doom’s twelfth release (in Dusking Day, there’s even a sticky riff with a few black metal shrieks thrown in). As such, Major Arcana is a convincing and diverse piece of work, operating at the crossroads of dark metal and doom/death – with the latter (Tarot) card thankfully being played as well. That last element could have been used a little more often, perhaps, but really, the album only has only one thing to worry about: it’s released on the exact same day as the new Paradise Lost album – and in the same genre, no less. Let’s see how the two stack up against each other.
Score:
83/100
Label:
Prophecy Productions, 2025
Tracklisting:
- June
- Major Arcana
- Ravenous
- Mercy
- The Dance
- The Fool
- Bleed Static
- Chatter
- Dusking Day
- XXII
Line-up:
- Paul Kühr – Vocals
- Larry Roberts – Guitar, vocals
- Vito Marchese – Guitar
- Mike Feldman – Bass guitar
- Gary Naples – Drums
Links: