Their Napalm Records debut Wisdom hit the streets yesterday 8/29/14 as of the time I am writing this review, and I would recommend you check it out.
A short acoustic intro leads the way on the opening title track ‘Wisdom’ which quickly contorts into distorted riffage accompanied by sinister vocal croons. A mild splash of thrash metal tonality spikes an already potent, spicy doom base to create a musical banquet fit for a heavy metal king. The music is fast enough to whip your hair into your beard, but still has enough stoner fuzz to cloud the pace ensuring a state of double vision. Speaking of Pace, this shit isn't made in New York City. It comes to us by way of Sweden, the brainchild of ex-Church of Misery member Tom Sutton. The Order of Israfel was brought to my attention after signing with one of my current favorite record labels, Napalm Records, who one can argue possess one of the strongest current catalogs of Stoner/Doom/Rock/Metal bands on the scene. The Order of Israfel is no exception utilizing heavy elements of doom, classic metal, rock, and at times even a bit of folk. Vocally Sutton portrays a doom singer a la Cathedral, Place of Skulls, Church of Misery, etc... Yet when listening closely he morphs it into a more accessible Godsmack-ish metal form. I mean that in a positive way as Godsmack has a hit or miss reputation. The vocal tone accentuates the crunchy and melodic guitar wails wickedly. Imagine if Metallica took the same path after And Justice for All but instead of taking the low road to riches, they took the high road to hell. Hell being the underground musical lair, strumming their chords of malicious ecstasy. What gets me excited about this stuff is how they can execute a relentlessly catchy riff, slather it in metallically perverted solos, and maintain an understandable yet down to earth (doom) vocal. It's got the whole package. Contender for year-end lists, and topping my last.fm charts for the month. I order you all to stop what you're listening to and order The Order Of Israfel over at Napalm Records now.
-The Huntsman
