Extreme Cold Weather – World exit (CD)

Doom/death all-star band created by (ex)members of Beyond Belief, Officium Triste and Severe Torture.

M-A: “To weather you through the cold season, this Dutch band’s debut might be of assistance when finding a warm spot to hibernate. Especially with dreary visions of cold in song titles like ‘Permafrost Entombment’ and ‘Animals in Wintertime’ to back up that frostbitten moniker, the gruelling doom riffing and drawn-out growls paint a bleak picture guaranteed to keep listeners indoors. However, World Exit isn’t merely a lethargic seasonal repetition from a bunch of new hands, since all 3 members arrive with impressive CVs showing time in Severe Torture, Officium Triste, and even Asphyx. The smothering vocals of Pim Blankenstein add a further dose of power to bold, hummable riffs, which drive 7 songs through 51 minutes without much need for pace, only oppressive doom and punchy rhythms.

As a result, World Exit communicates by small degrees and sticks to the glum palette set out by the cover art. Those infatuated with the mournful melodic riffing of early death doom acts like My Dying Bride will feel very much at home, though the vocals point more to the Dutch death scene where Extreme Cold Winter call home, and some subtle yet memorable keyboard shading bolsters the atmosphere with the bent of Skepticism. The careful control shown in forming the instrumental ‘The Sea Taketh’ characterizes the manner in which the album succeeds: brief watercolour details of buffeted seabirds break to an instantly evocative melody, and then wasted expanses of riffing stretch out to a forlorn horizon. In brief, the whole album feels like a painting from the 18th century sublime artists.”