Electric Wizard - Time to Die (2014)

As one of the biggest names in doom and one of my favorite doom bands, Electric Wizard have carved a very particular niche with their hazy, thick, drug and occult-influenced sound. There is no real departure from that sound on their 8th album, but there is a bit of welcome experimentation as on the psychedelic, keyboard-driven closer "Saturn Dethroned."

Sadly though, while this album isn't at all bad, much of it feels like a rehash of older material. The first three songs: "Incense for the Damned," the title track, and the extremely evil "I Am Nothing" are the clear standouts. The rest of it feels a bit plodding and unfocused. The album's lead single, "Sadiowitch," is quite unimpressive compared to the driving, groovy stomper "Black Mass" from the previous album.

While many may praise EW for their consistency, I think that most fans see the band's age starting to show. Most of those fans will also lose interest in this album fairly quickly and want to spin the classics such as "Come My Fanatics" and "Dopethrone" rather than the albums that try to imitate them.

"Time to Die" isn't a bad album by any means. In fact, "I Am Nothing" is possibly their darkest, most evil song to date, and really stands out in their career. However, as a whole, this album feels rather formulaic. If I were in the band, I would consider branching out into more psychedelic and non-metal territory to really make the next album stand out from the rest. But all in all, this is solid addition to this great band's catalog and I'm excited to see what they do next. 

7.5/10