Haunted

DAYBURNER TWIN EARTH ITALIAN DOOM TROUPE LOSE THEMSELVES IN A HAZE OF DISTORTION

Italian quartet Haunted specialise in thick, squelchy doom metal, topped off with the soaring wail of vocalist Cristina Chimirri. Think Windhand, but with slightly less of the earthy, bluesy feel and a bit more eerie, Coven-esque theatricality. Dayburner, their second full-length, is a mixed bag; when the band really hit their stride on songs like the title track and the passionate bombast of Waterdawn, their sheer sonic clout combines with anthemic songcraft to create something quite enthralling indeed. Unfortunately, they can’t maintain this for the album’s hour-long duration, with longer songs like Orphic having a tendency to plod instead of crush, while

Vespertine builds to a genuinely psychedelic climax but doesn’t half take its sweet time getting there. There’s a lot to love about Dayburner, but its flabbier moments will probably resign it to the collections of only the most fanatical doom-heads.

FOR FANS OF: WINDHAND, ELECTRIC WIZARD, MESSA