Driven to new despairing lows per the haunting spiritual dilemma described, the dire circumstances of our horrified protagonists in Los Angeles, California-based traditional doom metal quintet EARLY MOODS amounts to a bug eyed page-turner, a tornado’d dance through hymns of blood, ritual possession and all manner of shadowy terrors summoned as they present their sophomore full-length album. Soaring, garage-thundered and oozing from deeply wounding dread ‘A Sinner’s Past‘ makes real a swaggering glazed-eye’d sense of self that’d been hypothetical on the young band’s debut with true doom metal pusher. Trampling their way through eight songs in ~ten minutes shy of an hour these folks wear their new found experience to float and pound their way through this superior vision of late 70’s formed and early 80’s debuted trad-doom metal.

Early Moods formed back in 2015 as guitarist Eddie Andrade and vocalist/keyboardist Alberto Alcaraz chose doom over their interest in thrash and death metal projects they’d been milling over for years, finding quick success with locals shows and their first EP before soon signing with RidingEasy for their 2022 debut LP. Showing a bit of love for the NWOBHM, the foundational blues-tinged heart of Pentagram, and the dramatism of early Candlemass that first self-titled record (‘Early Moods‘, 2022) was a hit with me per its tuneful nature and ancient proto-doom sound which I’d praised in my review at the time. The expectation heading into album number two was that they’d likely walk in line with the heavy psychedelic rock spectrum of their sound but instead ‘A Sinner’s Past‘ feels even more resolutely classic doom metal inspired with slower and somewhat more exploratory pieces which breathe deeper and sound a shit-ton of bricks heavier this time around.

Though we could just as well point to NWOBHM-era doom metal a la Witchfinder General and Pagan Altar (among others) for precedence there is yet a sort of ‘Nightfall‘ level gloom to this record which gives it a palpable stature, a shape which is resilient and studded with the odd jogging heavy metal ride through, we can point to opener “Last Hour”, around the middle of the song, for a decent example of this up front. Though Alcaraz‘ timbre might have folks thinking of a band like Witchcraft up front his range feels just serious enough to pull off more of a heavy metal stride and dip into those ‘Sabotage‘-level hustled-up riffs which’d made ‘Early Moods‘ such a memorable LP; Rousing as that opener is ‘A Sinner’s Past‘ opens up its doors to doom definitively with “Blood Offerings” as the subject of the lyrics reserves themselves to sacrifice, embodying a dire situation within this multi-tiered exchange of riff and analog sounding room space. In fact one of the best aspects of this LP, and the main reason I’d kept it on repeat for ages, is its rough but punishing render, an oaken and dramatic sound which only enhances its classics-minded sound.

The main directive of Early Moods remains centrally focused in the mix, made expansive per the reach of the drums in full surround and the immediate and warmed over voice of the rhythm guitars, allowing the vocals to waft through each piece as a point of despairing warning. Though they are at times somewhat lost in the forest they’re lumbering within, the main ear-gripping trait here should be obvious enough as the bass guitar tone carries a sublimely snarling and somewhat punched up 70’s heavy rock/early Sabbath sponginess to its clangor but still brings the ultimate lowest end to shape their sound. This is a considerable bonus for my own taste as any real Sabbath groove requires a larger-than-life rhythm section; For the first two songs on this album the rippling clangor of the bass guitar isn’t necessarily subtle but an essential gear for their machine to keep on hitting. Once we hit the dramatic narrative of the title track (“A Sinner’s Past“) Elix Felciano‘s bass work proves the perfect tone to meet up with the heavier fuzz of the rhythm guitars (see also: “The Apparition”) wherein the bones of their work still hits hard as the riffs begin to steady their flow, generating a commanding ‘old school’ fatalistic urgency to each piece.

Neverending pleasure is all I need… — Sound design alone is enough to sell the mauled-up heaviness of ‘A Sinner’s Past‘ but for my own taste the peak of the listening experience here sustains beyond the high Side A closer “Unhinged Spirit” and direction into the most key song on the album, “The Apparition”, which’d felt was ominous, foreboding and possessed from the start and not at all that distant from the best of early Trouble. While the opening salvo of three songs should effectively sell the album to most doom metal fans, but for those seeking something nearby the darkest of mid-80’s classics hitting elbow deep into “The Apparition” sold the album for me. After that it seems Side B takes on a number of more experimental and exaggerative touches wherein Early Moods show a bit more personality but don’t necessarily hit those huge riffs, “Walperguise” being the perfect example of a heavy psych inflected jam with its extended lead, choral lilt to some of its verses and buried growls within its finale. This is also where we hit upon more of the heavy rock riffs which break the gloom of “A Sinner’s Past” as they are reprised within the kinda easygoing yet anthemic jog of “Hell’s Odyssey”. Of course I could go into even more detail, hit a few more references but the gist of it is that every detail counts here on the full listen and these folks make sure every second of the 50 minute spread of ‘A Sinner’s Past‘ counts.

Twice as heavy, kind of on a roll throughout and willing to try a few new things on the back half Early Moods‘ sophomore full-length avoids the usual slump for the sake of having built themselves up on the road, taking that experience into the studio ready to hit ’em with more. ‘A Sinner’s Past‘ hasn’t reinvented the wheel so much as it takes the best of the tradition and puts a character behind each song, a certain severity of spirit which speaks well to the necessary dread of doom metal all else the band brings to that locus. They’d already appear to be serious contenders and this album inarguably confirms it. A high recommendation.

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