Age of Taurus – Desperate Souls of Tortured Times

age5Age Of Taurus were formed originally as a one man project in 2009 and after the release of the debut demo “In the Days of the Taurean Empire” mainman Toby Wright put together a full band to take to the songs to the stage. Opening track “A Rush of Power” sets the scene, with a slow dirge not unlike Cathedral, however with a much meatier guitar sound and a bass sound that is right up sitting beside the guitars giving them full support and lending more weight.

Once the intro is out of the way it is into an infectious doom riff with a fantastic groove which immediately sticks to you like glue. Vocally it is very much strong traditional melodic doom with hints of all the greats such as Candlemass, Trouble and Sabbath. “Always in the Eye” has a chugging riff which builds momentum and atmosphere before dropping into the abyss with another crushing riff with harmony guitars, the guitar solos are well placed and not overly technical and suit the music perfectly.

“Walk with me my Queen”, appears to be a lament to a lost love and highlights the band’s use of weight and melody augmented by a strong memorable chorus. The final track “the Bull and the Bear” is a storming riff and picks up the pace considerably, an old school headbanger with a big fat bass line driving the song along, the laid back vocals fit well set against the aggression of the riff.

The album was produced by Jaime Gomez Arellano (Angel Witch, Ghost) and as expected is big and brash and really gives the speakers a proper workout. There is no new ground broken here but what we have is certainly an album of quality that will weather time due to its catchy riffs, keeping to the point and doesn’t meander too far of the doom laden path.

Tracklisting

1. A Rush of Power
2. Sinking City
3. Always in the Eye
4. Walk with Me, My Queen
5. Desperate Souls of Tortured Times
6. Embrace the Stone
7. The Bull and the Bear

Band Members

Richard Bruce – Bass
Darius Claydon – Drums
Alastair Riddell – Guitar
Toby Wright – Guitar/Vocals

 

About Dave McCallum

Old enough to know better. I have been a metalhead for a long time, I am a lifelong collector of vinyl and cds, the more the better.