Coming at you at the crawling speed of one’s perceived impending doom, CRIMSON COVEN’s debut full – length I – The Forge is everything the contemporary epic doom connoisseur needs. The fore – title I follows the enumeration established in the band’s debut demo 0 – The Genesis, which exploded in the scene out of nowhere, spiking interest in the underground; so understandably, the anticipation for the subject matter of this here review was high.
The tempo in The Forge is sprawling and torturous, the atmosphere heavy and bleak. Yet the vocals and production feel like a hidden cave you just discovered in the woods: possibly dangerous, but very welcoming and alluring to explore. The unique soundscapes and quirks of heavy metal born in the Iberian Peninsula (think of Portuguese relatives of the epic sort, like DOLMEN GATE or LADON HEADS) immediately shines through, adding to this, for lack of a better word, cozy feeling.
To my enjoyment, I – The Forge leans heavily on the epic aspect of its epic doom subgenre, invoking similarities to the monumental ATLANTEAN KODEX and the mighty DOOMSWORD. The vocal delivery especially helps with the latter, even if more in an aesthetic sense than anything else. Naturally, the keen listener will also recognize the influences of patriarchs of the sub – genre CANDLEMASS as well as Into Glory Ride era MANOWAR – one can’t go wrong with the basics. I believe you get the picture, dear reader.
The epic atmosphere is wonderfully supplemented by the fantasticly grimoire – esque album cover by Misanthropic Art. The mythos – heavy cover art also doubles as a critique on the corruption of power, interlinking it further with the album’s lyrical content.
If a drawback were to be assigned to this record, it’s that it is perhaps too monotonously ominous and slow, especially in regard to its length. I know this is doom we’re talking about, and 45 and a half minutes doesn’t seem like a lot, but the undoubtedly strong material could have perhaps shone even more brightly in a more compact, sub – 40 minute record. However this is not an issue with the individual songs, which seem to flow to whichever length without becoming overbearing.
To conclude, as stated in this review’s very first sentence: lovers of the genre, rejoice! This one is for you.
CRIMSON COVEN – I – The Forge will be released on the 9th of October 2026 by Cruz Del Sur Music on Vinyl, CD and Digital.
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Check the discussion about the album in our forum pages.
