As darkness descends in tunneling surround and the agony of mortality begins to wrestle uncontrollably beneath the skin Los Angeles, California-based doom metal act EARLY MOODS signal zeal for both collapse and defiance on this sharpened third full-length album. A full-bodied maturation rather than a total reconstruction ‘Ready For the Grave‘ finds the band leveraging experience and pro-level production in polishing its seven songs unto an uninterrupted golden standard. Still very much an act rooted in the 70’s cum 80’s heavy/doom metal headspace the great boon achieved within the quintet’s third act is a blend of adept classicist songcraft and varietal, smartly adorned treatment worthy of the old gods.

Early Moods formed back in 2015 but didn’t strike out with their debut EP ’til the pandemic kicked off several years later. Sporting a blurry medium between NWOBHM-era heavy metal and doom metal tradition their debut LP (‘Early Moods‘, 2022) was flush with reverence for the better-known names of the mid-80’s (Trouble, Pentagram, etc.) in extraction of a greater Sabbath groove. The band’s efforts would center around touring and taking on their own personage from that point and for my taste they’d made admirable strides towards this per a sophomore LP (‘A Sinner’s Past‘, 2024). It was a brilliantly dire narration of a descent into Hell, an existentially crushing point of doom and heavy rock classicism worthy of high praise in review. Heading into this new record they’ve suggested this one put the work into something more distinctly their own in tighter lock-step with their live experience.

The misery should show… and in that sense ‘Ready For the Grave‘ doesn’t rewrite the quintet’s genetic code away from its marriage of ‘The Skull‘ and ‘Nightfall‘ just yet, you’re still getting a yesterdays-sourced experience from their increasingly capable grip. That is to say that the old standards are upheld on this largely riff-driven doom metal record, a patient and ornate wriggling of the existential dread center of the brain which hits one song after another. There isn’t a poor choice or true misstep in their midst as these seven tightly writ ~6 minute heavy metal structured pieces deliver a burst of energetic dissent up front and tower in monolithic distress by the album’s endpoint.

Side A delivers the goods up front in this regard with the title track/opener “Ready For the Grave” charging in with a low-slung groove and headbang-along verses straight out of ‘Sabotage‘, a masterful rigging of momentum for the first half sporting spectacular classicist riffcraft. Combining said opener with a piece like “Inquisition” speaks aloud to the Trouble fan within per their cumulative subject matter and centrally grinding verse riffs, Early Moods had their fangs in vein pretty much off the rip. I’d also note that the drum production and performance particularly stand out on the latter piece with the combined efforts of Toshi Kasai‘s (@ Cyan Sound Studio) direction and a large-looming Audiosiege master emphasizing the presence of the kit in drummer Chris Flores‘ hands. Without question everyone involved understood the assignment in pulling the 80’s styled fusion at hand into resplendence, getting these folks’ bristling and haunted heavy metal sound under bright lights without culling the shadowy inner conflict inherent to the sub-genre.

“Thy Eternal Grief” and crawling tension of “The Prowler” in particular take us to other face of the coin with earlier Candlemass-inflected trod one’d look for within the Early Moods experience as some of their best pieces are slower-revealed. The former piece features some of vocalist Alberto Alcaraz‘ finest moments on this album, tapping into the Scorpions-esque part of his register and adding to a sort of Dio-fronted Sabbath inspired underpinning to his performances on this record. Likewise we find one of the more pronounced deployments of backing vocals on this song which offer a boon to the dramatic loft of ‘Ready for the Grave‘ whenever cropping up, even just to harmonize. Their hymnal soar almost replace the function of a guitar solo near the end of “Thy Eternal Grief”, one of many smaller details which infest every piece on the album when taking a closer ear.

Carrying on with the solemnity of the middle portion of the album the drawn out psychedelic despair of which introduces “When Light Fades” is less effective for my taste in terms of vocals from Alcaraz. Not that they’re bad in any sense but that his diction ceases to escalate, escaping the dramatic impact of the balladry the song’s structure indicates up front. It isn’t a flat spot on the record, in fact it adds a much needed tonal shift as Side B begins to trudge a bit harder and heavier. The crunchier riffing, vocal harmonies and dramatic forebode of “Her Wicked Spells” takes us somewhere else entirely without interrupting the moodiness of the flipside. While these pieces all add to the greater ouevre flexed on ‘Ready for the Grave‘ it is probably the extended dirge of closer “Ashes of the Damned” that’d left the biggest mark in the second half, a proper head-hanging doom metal song with its own dark tilt.

In the span of three full-length albums the folks in Early Moods have evolved from spirited fandom on display toward their own mastery of the high standards surrounding the well-trodden path of traditional doom metal. The ideal foundered within ‘Ready For the Grave‘ is wholly inspired, writ with practical insight beyond the norm and delivered with aplomb to suit as they maintain the confessional solemnity of both epic and rowdier rocking doom formae. This, paired with exceptional curation and sound design, marks the band’s third album as a true high point not only for their name but for the short list of records dealing doom and gloom in an era steeped within endtyme signals. A very high recommendation.

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