Review by Saxy S for Marianas Rest - Fata Morgana (2021)

Marianas Rest come across my review desk this week with their third studio album from 2021 and you would be forgiven if you expected it to be more the same death doom metal. The tempos are slow and brooding, but they never feel like they are wasting the listeners time, production is very impressive and the vocals are quite diverse in their range. The songwriting can feel a bit lacking at times since doom metal at the best of times is about atmosphere rather than driving melodies, but that can be excused for the albums post-metal textures that peak their head in from time-to-time. The Agalloch/Rosetta style of atmospheric doom/sludge metal is usually a big sell for me and here it is no exception, I just wish that Marianas Rest could have included a few more memorable riffs or vocal lines into these songs instead of relying on atmosphere to carry them home.

Best Songs: Glow from the Edge, Sacrificial, Fata Morgana, Advent of Nihilism