Band:	Narrow House
Album:	Thanathonaut
Style:	Doom metal
Release date:	May 2014

01. Crossroads
02. The First Day Of The Rest Of Your Life
03. Furious Thoughts Of Tranquility
04. The Midwife To Sorrows
05. Thanathonaut
06. A Sad Scream Of Silver
07. Crushing The Old Empire
08. The Last Retreat
09. Doom Over Valiria
10. Возрождение [Virgin Black cover]

I've wrestled with this review for quite some time now, sort of dreading typing it up. The biggest reason for this is Narrow House is another of those more "extreme" doom bands that has migrated into far less harsh territory. In and of itself, that isn't a bad thing. See also - Ahab, Process Of Guilt.

However the band was coming off the really fantastic A Key To Panngrieb - an album that cracked my top 10 of a 2012 that was chock full o' awesome albums. Coming from an album simultaneously harsh and extremely interesting, the first several spins of Thanathonaut just seemed relatively straightforward and lacking in some of the wildcard factor that made A Key intriguing.

Sure, the album has (too much) saxamophone and lots of Hiroshima-related soundbytes, from serious to attempts at comedy, and other embellishments or short diversions. But the record itself just seems a relatively straightforward somber, trudging march.

The riffing is solid and the guitar sounds great, but it ultimately the straightforward trudging march, however great the guitar tone, just becomes monotonous. "A Midwife To Sorrows" perhaps breaks the mood, but only momentarily, before the title track steps in, with the trudging march vibe felt in earlier tracks oh so obviously reinforced as the opening is accompanied by the sound of 12 marchers marching.

You've likely noticed I've used the word "trudging" a lot already in this review, and unfortunately because of this trudgery I don't connect emotionally, either.

I really like the band, and this is a good release? if I come across as negative or disappointed, it's because even with a four month delay in an attempt to divorce myself from the initial feelings and inevitable comparison their prior effort, building a nice mental wall separating the two, I still find myself nonplussed.

If you're coming from the post-metal part of town, and aren't a big fan of what spinning in the treehouse of the Marcel Kool Kids Doom Klub, you're feelings for this might very well be a total reversal of mine. It seems, based upon user ratings, more prefer this, which is just fine.

Hooray subjectivity.