VILLAGE CRYPT: Novembers Doom - Of Sculpted Ivy and Stone Flowers

Here at the Sleeping Village, we keep our most revered albums in....a very special place. Their time may have gone, but they are certainly not forgotten. Today's pick: another one of  The Voiceless Apparition's all-time favorites. Read on! ​

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Written by: The Voiceless Apparition

​Hello everyone. Here is part II of my retrospective review series. Today I'm going to be reviewing the second studio album from Chicago dark metal pioneers Novembers Doom. Entitled Of Sculpted Ivy and Stone Flowers, this album was released on May 25th, 1999. This album marks a huge shift in the band's sound compared to their debut album, as they almost completely shed their death/doom bruteness (not entirely) and went instead for a more melancholy and melodic gothic metal sound. 

The album begins on a melancholic note, as "With Rue and Fire" is a hauntingly painful song. Drowning in despair and regret, this song pulls at your heartstrings. With such heartbreaking lyrics like: "In some sick way, I enjoy my pain/It always seems to indulge me," you can't help but feel for vocalist Paul Kuhr as he belts out growls with such agony and conviction. "The Jealous Sun" picks up the pace a little bit, albeit with dynamic and mood shifts. I really liked the choice of layering the growls and clean vocals together in the first verse, it gives it more of an epic feeling to it. Major praise needs to be given to guitarist Eric Burnley as his choice of chords and melodies is fantastic. Towards the 4:00 mark we segue into a beautiful section of gorgeous clean guitars and the amazing vocals of Cathy Jo Hejna. ​

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