The 11th Hour

Hier die englische Bandinfo:

Diagnosed with a terminal lung disease, haunted by unspeakable nightmares forcing him to revisit the blackest days of his life... faced with his imminent demise, a dying man spends his last days on earth coming to grips with his troubled past and attempting to redeem himself. “Burden of Grief” takes us from the stifling blackness of his room to the damp soil of the graveyard where the dead sleep, and beyond...

The 11th Hour is a new Dutch/Swedish Doom Metal band from the minds of multi-instrumentalist Ed Warby (Gorefest, Hail Of Bullets, Ayreon) and musical centipede Rogga Johansson (Edge of Sanity, Demiurg, Paganizer, Ribspreader). Making a full-fledged Doom Metal album is a-wish- come true for Ed, as it gives him a perfect opportunity to worship unconditionally at the “Altar of the Riff”. Although both Ed and Rogga are mostly known for their considerable death metal prowess and have previously worked together in the death metal juggernaut Demiurg, both love Doom Metal in all its guises and embraced this opportunity with great enthusiasm.

For Ed this marks a double first: not only did he write all the song material, he also plays every single instrument on the album, as well as handling half the vocal duties. Rogga contributes the other half in his renowned guttural style. The haunting lyrics are a combined effort of both Ed and Rogga and eschew the expected gothic fantasy-style in favor of a harshly realistic approach to the morbid subject matter.

“Burden of Grief” is a six-track cycle of loss and regret, of death and bereavement, and of doom and redemption, set to some of the heaviest music imaginable. The 11th Hour is rooted firmly in the Doom Metal tradition with an austere monolithic sound, rich string and piano sections that illuminate the songs with a sense of melancholy, while adding luster and variety to the music’s bleak atmosphere. Over the course of its 6 songs, “Burden of Grief” takes the listener on an emotionally draining journey filled with memories too painful to confront, truths too harsh to acknowledge, and grief too deep to bear. Ed's mournfully melodic vocals represent the protagonist's despair, while Rogga's inhuman growls roar with his bitterness and determination to escape the fires of hell that he fears await him.

The album was blessed with a crushing mix by Ronnie Björnström for Audio Enhanced Productions that manages to be heavy and transparent at the same time, allowing the epic arrangements to shine through as the story unfolds. Mick Koopman (Hail of Bullets, Asphyx) supplied the beautiful artwork which is presented as the protagonist’s handwritten journal.

The 11th Hour is:

Ed Warby – Guitars, Bass, Drums, Keyboards, Vocals
Rogga Johansson – Vocals

01. One Last Smoke , 6:44
02. In The Silent Grave , 8:22
03. Origins Of Mourning , 11:13
04. Weep For Me , 8:52
05. Atonement , 7:44
06. Longing For Oblivion , 9:40