review: Lord Vigo

Lord Vigo

Danse De Noir

High Roller Records

10. April 2020

Lord Vigo is pre-1990-style cult, with peculiar singing that is similar in spirit to Messiah Marcolin-era Candlemass (or Jefferson Airplane, actually), which is to say a type of operatic shrieking voice. Fans into unique, cult, vintage and strange voices (examples: Mercyful Fate, Slough Feg, Brocas Helm, etc.) will be interested in hearing the details, contours, curves, shrieks, and howls, and the reverb on this voice. Oftentimes the singing is doubled. There is the main high voice and there are other higher, wilder screams, yells and other types of vocalizations accompanying the main voice for that special feeling of cult: a bit strange, even for metal. The album also has a bit of that creepy, dystopian, big-brother-is-watching-you vibe, too, but in a cinematic or literary kind of way, like a 1980s movie or something. It crosses the mind at times that this band sounds like The Cure’s singer has joined Candlemass. Robert Smith singing for Candlemass? Listen to this band’s quirky singing and maybe you might agree a little. Or, imagine Robert Smith singing like King Diamond singing like Messiah Marcolin-era Candlemass, and see if you can hear it, too.

The above is referring mostly to the singing. As to the music, it is very, very ear-friendly midtempo songs that are very intelligible and easy to get into. Speaking of which, maybe this is a perfect time for this band to be checked out by the U.S. fans that love all those super slow doom genres. This band is not doom in the stoner/sludge ways, but it is midtempo and nowadays it seems like a cousin of that contemporary doom, but way more melodic and catchy. People call this band epic doom metal, but to your friends into Bell Witch, Mournful Congregation, Un, and Evoken, this band sounds positively cheerful. For one thing, this band has moments of rocking out, in a midtempo, somber way that doom fans would celebrate (slowly).

The bass guitar is very audible and the band likes to smooth out the sound with background keyboards for that subtle and majestic comforting feeling. In addition, the band uses those background vocals that sound like a church choir chanting in the distance. There are plenty of guitar melodies going on all over the place, and the production is smooth.

Essentially, the album is of interest to fans to doom, especially the melodic and classic forms of doom. Fans of cult metal in general would be another demographic that could really enjoy this ride.

lordvigo.bandcamp.com/releases