Sometimes you seen album that has especially sick art and you think, "Man this album is going to kick nine kinds of ass!" And then it doesn't, and you feel sad. That is not to say that Zorormr's The Aftermath is necessarily a bad record but rather that it simply doesn't live up to the promise of the cover art. The bands fairly straightforward brand of black metal, which emphasizes a few eighties touches and moments of doom metal is solid but never manages to transcend.
The Aftermath satisfies a lot of tropes of modern black metal, especially of the sort that tries to expand beyond the traditional boundaries of the genre. The guitar solos are bombastic and the riffs attempt to communicate grandeur. It just feels too undeveloped to me. Clearly the dudes in Zorormr are fairly talented, it's just that they don't quite have what it takes to make an album that inspires multiple listens. The potential is clear, but The Aftermath just never reaches liftoff.
So what will the aftermath of this particular record will be? Well I certainly hope that Zorormr continue. They have what it takes to come above the dross that defines so much modern metal, I'm just curious how long it will take them to advance. In a world of broken hearts and fall aparts, The Aftermath seeks to be a panacea, a reminder that it always gets worse. Though the band touches on magic with eerie Hammond organs and monster riffs we are still left thrashing in the void.
Score: 5/10
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