Sorrowful Land - Where The Sullen Waters Flow (Digital EP)

atmospheric death doom metal, Solitude Digital, Solitude Digital
9 reviews Write a review
SD. 008-17 digital

This product is electronically distributed.

This project appeared to breathe new life into classical doom death metal, and this fresh mini album was created to show that the band continues to hold high the banner of style, following the proven path of the genre. Those who managed to hear the debut Sorrowful Land album “Of Ruins …” will be satisfied with the strict adherence to the canons of the genre which were developed by My Dying Bride and Anathema. For those who will give a listen to the band at first time, this EP offers three refined tracks filled with key passages, atmospheric guitars, decorated with a variety of vocals and all of this is flavored with melody and tragic mood. This is all you need to enjoy listening.

Tracklist:
1 As I Behold Them Once Again 10:43
2 Where The Sullen Waters Flow 9:35
3 The Night Is Darkening Around Me 7:26

Artist:
Sorrowful Land
Artist Country:
Ukraine
Album Year:
2017
Title:
Where The Sullen Waters Flow
Genre:
atmospheric death doom metal
Format:
Digital
Type:
Digital EP
Label:
Solitude Digital
Cat Num:
SD. 008-17
Release Year:
2017
Barcode:
7630047193699
Country Of Manufacture:
Russia
Review
DarkUndergroundMusicZine
8/10
09.12.2017

Sorrowful Land are a solo project from Ukraine that plays an atmospheric mixture of funeral doom and death metal and this is a review of his 2017 ep “Where The Sullen Waters Flow” which was released by Solitude Productions.

Atmospheric synths start off the album while also using a variety of amny different sounding keys along with some whispers also being used briefly and they also mix in with the more melodic and heavier style of funeral doom metal as well as the vocals being mostly deep death metal growls.

A great amount of 90’s era atmospheric doom/death metal elements can also be heard throughout the recording while spoken word parts and clean playing are also utilized at times along with all of the tracks being very long and epic in length as well as the solos and leads being done in a very melodic fashion and all of the songs stick to a very slow musical direction.

Sorrowful Land plays a musical style that takes funeral doom metal and mixes it with 90’s era atmospheric doom/death metal to create a sound of his own, the production sounds very professional while the lyrics cover loneliness, sorrow and grief themes.

In my opinion Sorrowful Land are a very great sounding atmospheric funeral doom/death metal solos project and if you are a fan of this musical genre, you should check out this ep. RECOMMENDED TRACK “The Night Is Darkening Around Me”.

Author: OccultBlackMetal
Solitude Productions 14.05.2018, 09:50
Review
Sick and Destroy
8/10
08.02.2018

Second band from Ukraine for today, cool! In spite of previously reviewed Bergrizen – Sorrowful Land is completely another kind of music.

Sorrowful Land is a doom/death one-man project out of Ukraine’s homecity of Drudkh and many more worth bands our of the country. I’m always curious about one-man projects because they are differs, some may be shitty and some may be awesome. What can I say about Sorrowful Land is Max Molodtsov makes decent job with his rpoject! “Where The Sullen Waters Flow” drove me back into ’90s doom/death metal when My Dying Bride and Anathema released killer albums within the chosen genre.

Sorrowful Land have everything for your doom metal needs! Tragic atmosphere, catching guitars, good growls and freezing guitar solos. The songs built with all necessary tunes such like slow-downs, break-downs and mid-tempos. Certainly powerful EP-album made by huge fan of doom/death metal for the likes. I hope Max will find permanent members and will start to play live.

Classical doom/death metal, worth for attention, that’s all I can say in conclusion.
Solitude Productions 14.05.2018, 09:49
Review
Metal Forever
7.5/10
29.01.2018

Příznivce nálad dřívějších My Dying Bride a melancholie, jež je tolik typická pro finský doom metal, už možná jednočlenný ukrajinský projekt Sorrowful Land svým debutem „Of Ruins…“ oslovil. Max Molodtsov (též z gothic doomových Edenian) představuje nové EP „Where the Sullen Waters Flow“, které servíruje tři skladby o celkové stopáži trvající necelou půlhodinku. Vyplatí se doomovým romantikům věnovat této malé placce pozornost?

Tragická atmosféra, vystavěná na srdce rozrývající kytarové melodice, již doprovázejí klávesy, střídání deathového growlingu s mluveným slovem či tajemným šepotem a atmosférické, nikam nepospíchající bicí, které se v případě potřeby přehoupnou do temp svižnějších. Jako bychom se ocitli v zemi tisíců jezer (třeba na třetím disku posledního trojalba Swallow the Sun) nebo v zemi tří korunek (třeba u projektu Doom:VS). Maxův obdiv severské melancholie je i doložitelný, v minulosti (na demu „On Another`s Sorrow“ z roku 2014) se totiž zapletl se švédským hudebníkem Peterem Laustsenem z kapely When Nothing Remains, který se tehdy postaral o čisté zpěvy.

Byť se Max drží odkazu na již zaběhnutý doom metal (sklouzávající do funerální atmosféry), jeho vlastní doomové cítění je zřejmé. Kytary jako vytržené z doommetalového manuálu servíruje první téměř jedenáct minut dlouhá „As I Behold Them Once Again“, zatímco následující titulní položka upoutá krásným úvodem ověnčeným těžce (nezvráceně) romantickým nádechem, který v žánru už zase tak obvyklý není. Tato skladba (jak už sám její název napovídá) jako proud vody protéká několika dramatickými úseky, přičemž dno toku tvoří rozlehlá klávesová pobřeží. I třetí skladba se svým názvem trefila do černého, neboť „The Night Is Darkening Around Me“ je zhudebněná temnota, jež posluchače pevně sevře ve své náruči. Stačí se jen oddat Maxově dynamickému vokálu a nechat se zasněně unášet ponurou nocí až k uspokojivému konci.

Vzhledem k citelnému inspirování se u pionýrů žánru vzbuzuje první oťukávání se Sorrowful Land dojem neoriginality, avšak po důkladném seznámení se začne lehce odkrývat osobitost. V tom, co Max vytvořil na debutu, nyní pokračuje, jen je jeho tvorba o něco silnější a posouvá se o kousek výše. Ty, kteří si doom metal poslechnou jen na dušičky, Sorrowful Land zřejmě neosloví. Pokud ale tónům tragického rážení holdujete, stojí tento ukrajinský projekt za pozornost.

Author: Peťulín
Solitude Productions 14.05.2018, 09:49
Review
Necromance
8/10
09.01.2018

Desde Ucrania, nos llega el nuevo Ep de SORROWFUL LAND, “Where The Sullen Waters Flow”, editado a través de Solitude Records. Este es otro de esos proyectos solitarios que tanto nos gustan, en concreto tras este se esconde Max Molodtsov, encargado de todos los instrumentos, letras, voces y concepto, para traernos un doom metal atmosférico y melódico de mucha calidad con toques a SHAPE OF DESPAIR, EVOKEN, COLOSSEUM…

El triunvirato lo abre “As I Behold Them Once Again”, y lo hace de una forma clásica, con unos riffs pesados pero muy contundentes, un sonido que echaba de menos, mientras que Max juega con los sentimientos y emociones cambiando las tonalidades de su voz desde el susurro hasta la narración, pero dejándonos unos guturales muy marcados, que son marca de la casa y que recrean ese toque taciturno y doom de la vieja escuela. Destaca también las melodías tan épicas y melancólicas que te llevaran hacia un sueño repleto de goticismo, a lo largo de sus más de diez minutos de duración. Pero en “Where The Sullen Waters Flow”, le da un toque más orquestal e incentiva esa nostalgia, aunque los ritmos siguen siendo doom, introduce elementos como violines, una guitarra limpia y muy onírica, que se entremezcla entre lamentos y susurros para crear una nostalgia eterna con toque muy a lo MY DYING BRIDE.

“The Night Is Darkening Around Me”, cierra este corto pero intenso Ep, con el que posiblemente sea el corte más doom del álbum, que cabalga lento y pesado entre melodías muy ambientales, trasladándonos hacia un tema donde las guitarras tienen un toque especial y acompañan a Max en un estribillo mágico, personalmente el mejor tema del Ep, sin desmerecer a las otras dos, pero esta guarda una fuerza y una emotividad que va más allá y crece a medida que transcurren los minutos, un temazo.

Gran trabajo han realizado con este corto Ep el señor Max Molodtsov, bajo su proyecto SORROWFUL LAND, el cual no deberían pasar ningún amante del doom melancólico y poderoso.

Author: Juan Angel Martos
Solitude Productions 14.05.2018, 09:49
Review
Battle Helm
4.5/5
03.01.2018

This is my shot of melancholy this week. And what a shot it is. This Ukraine one-man project have delivered the goods with this EP. I am a huge friend of the melancholic, atmospheric doom death metal that bands like My Dying Bride play. If I could I would play this stuff constantly but even I need to mix it up every once in a while. But I will return to the melancholic as often as I can. And this is right now my new melancholic fave. This I will play over and over for a very long time now. I am so glad that I got to hear this.

Author: Anders Ekdahl
Solitude Productions 14.05.2018, 09:49
Review
Terra Relicta
9/10
25.12.2017

Ukraine’s atmospheric doom/death one-man band Sorrowful Land is back with a new EP entitled Where The Sullen Waters Flow and if you ask me I’d take this any day over the new so very hipped Bell Witch album. Sorrowful Land initiated the ears of the listeners with the in 2016 released debut album Of Ruins…, a strong melodic and very melancholic solid death/doom record that is sure to please just about any doom fan. Now one year later they return with a strong effort, maybe even stronger than was their debut album, a three track EP featuring some fascinating heavy, slow, utterly melancholic and dramatic piece of music.

With epic melodies and slow chord progression Ukraininan musican Max Molodtsov manges to take the listener away into the vast atmosphere of their music, it’s like an everlasting journey into the depths of abyss. Much alike to the debut album the song structures remain fairly untouched which can be a good and a bad thing for some bands, but in this case its signature sounds almost perfect and it works out great. With great slowly waveing captivating melodies, great atmospheric synths, powerful rhythms when necessary and dynamic vocals, that range from deep brutal ones to clean and dramatic spoken ones, Sorrowful Land delivers one stunning piece of doleful but sweet darkness. On the emotional level is something similar in mood to what we were used to hear from My Dying Bride.

With a running time of around 30 minutes you don’t need to listen too long to understand why this EP is gonna be a doom hit in last weeks of 2017. The songs are lengthy but not boring at all, between 9-10 minutes and it dosen’t matter when the music created is done so well. Much like the latest Evadne album Sorrowful Land stands right there on top of their game with bands like Saturnus, Doom:VS, When Nothing Remains, Vanha,… but still bringing their own game to the fields.

Both 2016 and 2017 have been filled with amazing doom/death records and it makes sense in a way that this dark beauty was released now, as the darker time of the year is here! If you are into the more atmospheric doom or death metal then this band is really up your alley, and it deserves every listen you give it cause it’s a strong EP as it can be. It might sound cheesy to praise it this high but from a personal perspective it’s just a brilliant release that should really be taken into account when looking for good music in 2017.

Author: Oliver
Solitude Productions 14.05.2018, 09:49
Review
Iye Zine
7.8/10
18.12.2017

A distanza di circa un anno Max Molodtsov torna a farsi sentire con il suo progetto solista Sorrowful Land.

Avevo già parlato più che bene del full length d’esordio Of Ruins …, che metteva in mostra qualità sopraffine sia dal punto di vista compositivo che esecutivo, andando anche oltre a quanto di buono già fatto con la sua band principale, i gotici Edenian.
In occasione del lavoro su lunga distanza avevo fatto notare una devozione piuttosto marcata nei confronti degli When Noting Remains (con tanto di imprimatur derivante dalla partecipazione come ospite di Peter Laustsen) e tutto sommato con questo lungo ep intitolato Where The Sullen Waters Flow non sembra che le coordinate siano variate più di tanto e, ci tengo a ribadirlo, questo non è assolutamente da considerare un punto negativo.
Infatti, nei tre lunghi brani che si avvicinano complessivamente alla mezz’ora di durata, il polistrumentista ucraino conferma lo spessore del proprio talento naturale per la composizione di musica struggente e colma di melodia mai stucchevole, grazie ad un lavoro chitarristico elegante e sobrio allo stesso stesso tempo.
Niente da eccepire quindi su questo gradito ritorno in tempi relativamente brevi (per le abitudini in uso nel genere) con un trittico di brani di grande efficacia tra i quali, a mio avviso, spicca l’ultimo, The Night Is Darkening Around Me, nel quale avviene un parziale spostamento verso un sound ancor più legato al suono della chitarra solista, questa volta con Saturnus e Doom Vs. nel mirino.
Ripeto che la citazione dei vari riferimenti non deve essere intesa come un’accusa di derivatività, bensì quale tentativo di fornire un’idea di cosa attendersi a chi si avvicina all’ascolto di questo lavoro, con la certezza che chi ama questo genere musicale l’ultimo dei problemi che si pone è proprio quello dell’originalità, specialmente quando il pathos e l’intensità si mantengono sempre al livello offerto da Where The Sullen Waters Flow.
Un ep che conferma il nome Sorrowful Land come un qualcosa che va ben oltre lo status di progetto futuribile, trattandosi di una realtà alla quale si chiede solo di continuare su questa strada anche in futuro.

Author: STEFANO CAVANNA
Solitude Productions 14.05.2018, 09:49
Review
Antichrist Magazine
8.5/10
19.12.2017

Sorrowful Land figure among the growing Ukrainian doom community, impressing plenty of knowledgeable observers with last year’s debut album release Of Ruins… This three-track EP builds on those firm foundations and once again Sorrowful Land have spread their moving cloak of melancholy to sublime effect.

What is not immediately apparent is that Sorrowful Land, like the much-heralded Ukraine demon Drudkh, is a solo project – this one nurtured by the highly capable hands of Max Molodtsov, who also performs with Edenian.

Initially Max was partnered by Swedish artist Peter Laustsen (When Nothing Remains, Nox Aurea) with Peter taking care of clean vocals on their demo release in 2014. Peter left at the start of 2016 and so did not contribute to the debut album. While live performances always present a challenge, in the studio the one-man project becomes less of a hurdle.

‘As I Behold Them Once Again’ is the first and longest of the tumultuous triumvirate that make up this EP at just over 10 minutes. The guitars are given license to paint pictures as vividly as a budding artist while the timing and execution of the sullen grooves helps build and maintain momentum throughout.

Vocally the style is akin to Aaron Stainthorpe from My Dying Bride and Sorrowful Land walk the same beleaguered and barren lands as the UK’s esteemed doom giants. While the first half of ‘As I Behold Them Once Again’ is quite determined in its tempo this is interrupted by an ambient mid-song pause before the wheels again start to turn and the heartfelt strips of melody pour forth once more.

The middle title track is laced with a gently gyrating groove which acts as a transcendental contrast to Max’s deathly growls. The psychological noose is pulled ever tighter as Sorrowful Land ratchet up the tension with a slowly building orchestral flourish.

‘The Night is Darkening Around Me’ is the darkest of the three tracks, oozing melancholy through every sombre note and guttural emission. It’s a gut-wrenching doom monologue that brings this excellent release to a gratifying end, albeit one with a heavy heart.

Author: Paul Castles
Solitude Productions 14.05.2018, 09:49
Review
Metal Temple
9/10
21.02.2018

One can hardly imagine a more suitable environment for Doom Metal than the situations and places described in the different expressions of Ukrainian art, usually confused and included in the Russian spectrum, this nation has been a proud counterpart to one of the two countries involved in the cold war during the second part of the twentieth century. After enduring their difference throughout history, Ukraine has managed to maintain its own identity in everything they produce and Doom Metal is not the exception.

After his first full length album released in the year of two thousand sixteen, the one man band engineered by Max Molodtsov, SORROWFUL LAND releases its second EP called “Where the Sudden Waters Flow”, a three song sample of what will be the multi instrumentalist’s second album; A compliance of structural form that demands a high grade of musical engineering and tonal construction to go along with the whole concept.

The three songs in this EP are long and tortuous just like the Ukrainian winter, and the gloomy and nightmarish ambient goes along with the flow of such great bands of the genre such as “THE GATHERING” and “DARK TRANQUILITY” with a proficient production method to go with the mental structure that comes only after mankind is deprived of concepts such as religion and science and only after it acquires the true insignificance and frailty of existence, then and only then can one envision a work of musical creativity and appreciate the essence of a band like SORROWFUL LAND and the fact that all its efforts and outcomes are provided by only one mind working in harmony and balance with itself.

Whenever the mind gets involved in any sort of turmoil, the whole psyche envisions various ways into which defeat and failure can become the only option, for it is of course easier to embrace failure without even trying to get a favorable consequence, that is to me the importance of a sub-genre like Doom Metal and its influence on the Metal Temple and all the different kinds of practitioners that attend it to find music and within it meaning and essence. A matter of deep thought that some seek to find and others to elude whenever listening to music.

Songwriting: 9
Originality: 9
Memorability: 8
Production: 10

Author: JOGANEGAR
Solitude Productions 14.05.2018, 09:48
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