Grief Collector - En delirium (2021)^{Release ID: 32337}

Grief Collector were formed in Minneapolis back in 2017 when Among the Serpents' Brad Miller and Signs of Reign's Matt Johnson decided to get together to play some serious doom metal. By 2019 they had come to the conclusion that they needed a credible vocalist and so managed to get ex-Candlemass and Solitude Aeternus vocalist Rob Lowe on board. The resulting trio issued a six-track, thirty minute EP to little fanfare or acclaim in April 2019.

Fast forward two years to summer 2021 and the release of En Delirium, the band's debut full-length. Featuring ten original tracks and a Dio-era Sabbath cover, the album clocks in at over an hour and is very much in the epic doom mould as you could expect from a band featuring a vocalist with Rob Lowe's track record. Comparison to previous Lowe outfits such as Solitude Aeternus and Candlemass is certainly appropriate, at least in terms of style, as was probably Miller and Johnson's intention when inviting him on board, Grief Collector being conceived to play exactly the kind of epic doom Lowe has mainly been involved with. I'm not so sure the comparisons hold up quality-wise however, Grief Collector being at least a rung down on the epic doom ladder from those titans of the genre. Sure, there's some decent riffs, guitarist Johnson fires off some nice solos and Lowe is as good as ever, but there just isn't the same level of quality as far as the songs go. There's not that much that will lodge irremovably into your brain like Candlemass managed so many times over their lengthy career.

The problem with playing metal of a fairly old vintage, such as traditional or epic doom, is that there are so many great albums out there that it needs something exceptional to worm it's way into the affections of the genre's adherents and possibly to usurp some of the old guard's material and while there is nothing inherently wrong with En Delirium this isn't the album that is going to knock over any of the classics. I don't want to give the impression that I didn't like this, because I most definitely did, but it will probably ultimately be filed under "solid, but no classic".