MOURN THE LIGHT - Suffer, Then We’re Gone (Review)

Written by: Blackie Skulless

Mourn The Light is the first of the inevitable “incredible album from last year that I didn’t discover until January.” Hailing from Connecticut here in the states, they do a very up-tempo brand of doom metal with traditional heavy metal influences. Rather than being dark and gloomy at all turns, they head the warmer direction and construct music that’s full of emotion and strong tempo. Having been around for a couple years now, last summer they released their debut full-length titled Suffer, Then We’re Gone.

Coming at it with this approach immediately makes it more digestible as an album on the longer side. Naturally, grand constructions bordering the epic end (without the obnoxious toppings) take the majority of the cake. There are pretty extreme shifts in mood that somehow work, easily seen in the hook-friendly opener “When The Fear Subsides.” It rides on that gothic sadness that Idle Hands utilizes, before swinging into an acoustic, clean and upbeat outro. The title track also opens up side B with a very similar, bassy approach before switching entirely to the heaviest moment on the album.

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This doesn’t mean that there isn’t a lot of heaviness to be unearthed in general on Suffer, Then We’re Gone anyway. Pummeling drumbeats and galloping rhythms make up a large amount of the foundation underneath these attention grabbers. Hell, that aggressive part of the title track even injects some harsh vocals. I’ll admit that these were a bit off-putting and didn’t feel fitting, but at least it was interesting. You can also catch fast, thrash oriented riffing in “End Of Times,” before quickly shifting into a stompy and powerful verse. “I Bare The Scars” really sums up the general idea wonderfully, and the harmonizing in the vocals here is beautiful, a contrast to the chantier chorus of aforementioned “End Of Times.”
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​Picture something like Savatage attitude and precision meets Tony Martin era Sabbath, crafted overtop The Obsessed foundation, and sprinkle in a tiny dash of goth rock. This is a longer record that uses the time to its advantage. There’s so much to unpack from here, and the cleanliness in execution and production just exaggerates the wonderful songwriting even more. Truly I’d recommend this to any fan of the traditional or doom metal genres.

Mourn the Light - Suffer, Then We’re Gone was released July 2nd, 2021 via Argonauta Records. Find it here!

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Mourn the Light can be found:
​Bandcamp
Facebook
mournthelight.com