Djinn and Miskatonic
“Forever in The Realm”
2013
Djinn and Miskatonic was a doom metal band hailing from India heavy on the doom and light on the musical development. Their tepid debut album, titled Forever in The Realm is not a bad record, but it lacks stand out qualities. This is less an album that feels like doom metal, more and album copying what it thinks doom metal should sound like. This five-song album has three long songs (two that stretch past the ten minute mark) and two short songs. The strength of the record is in the strong doomy atmosphere the slow riffs and drumming create. The problem is there is very little sense of momentum. The long songs barely twist and turn. And once singer Gautham Khandige starts his weak doom bellow, it is obvious that this type of singing is not in his register. His growling is powerful and fierce, but when he bellows it doesn’t sound natural. The few moments where Djinn and Miskatonic pick up the pace, he switches over to a consistent style of growling. But, no matter, each song follows the same procedure. Starts off slow and doomy with the sub-par bellowing, then either goes nowhere and ends or speeds up slightly before it ends. There are no surprises on Forever in The Realm. The biggest offense that Forever in The realm commits is that it is musically uninteresting. Nothing on this album feels fresh and original. It tries hard but fails to elevate itself past mediocre doom metal. It is not a miserable experience, but it is not a memorable one either. It exists in the realm of average, sub-par music and seems that it is content to stay forever in this realm.
Tracklist:
1. 7 Year Witch
2. Book of the Fallen
3. Vulcan’s Forge
4. Voice from the Tomb
5. Weird Tales
https://www.facebook.com/djinnandmiskatonic
Members:
Jayaprakash Satyamurthy – Bass
Siddharth Manoharan – Drums
Gautham Khandige – Vocals
Sriram Kvlteswaran – Guitars
Rating: 6 out of 10
~Kris