Album Reviews : Black Trillium – The Locked Woods

If there’s one thing Australia doesn’t seem to be short of lately, it’s superb doom bands, with bands like Adrift For Days, Okera, Summonus, Roussemoff and Hydromedusa among those dropping brilliant material. Add Black Trillium to that list. While so many of those releases do lean towards the groovier, stoner-influenced side of doom, these Sydney-siders are sitting on the other side of things, leaning towards the stylings of My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost.

The half-hour long release begins with what are almost whispered vocals, before crushing you with some Candlemass-esque riffs; an obvious influence throughout the EP. “My Decline”, the shortest track clocking in at less than five minutes, knocks the pace up a bit with the latter half heading briefly into death metal territory. “The Perfumed Garden” is as hauntingly beautiful as the name suggests, and closer “Rage Fuels My Masterpiece” features some of the fastest and slowest moments, evening bringing a touch of pure, dark funeral doom into the mix.

While the breathy growls on here are certainly nothing to complain about, it’s the clean vocals (which are actually the majority) that really stand out. They’re solemn, gloomy and fit the music absolutely perfectly. The heavy parts of the EP are utterly crushing, and when everything drops back to clean guitars and those vocals, you can almost see the mist appear around you.

If The Locked Woods is any indication of what’s to come, doom fans are in for something special whenever new material pops up. 8.5/10

Band: Black Trillium
Album: The Locked Woods
Year: 2012
Genre: Doom
Label: Independent
Origin: Sydney, Australia
facebook.com/BlackTrilliumBand

Track list:
1. The Locked Woods
2. My Decline
3. The Perfumed Garden
4. Rage Fuels My Masterpiece