SaviorSkin - Invita Mori

SAVIORSKIN is a doom metal band from Houston, Texas who formed in 2018. ‘Invicta Mori,’ is their third full-length album. SAVIORSKIN has a varied sound that incorporates death metal, Gothic elements, and even industrial into its brand of moody gloom. What I like most about this album is every song sounds different–a lot of variety within the nine tracks that keep the listener guessing as to what will come next. ‘Iconoclast,’ opens the album with ominous tones and clean keys until the 32 second mark when a thick, melodic tinged riff hits with the subtlety of being slammed in the head by a brick. The death growls arrive soon after—deep, throaty, yet still intelligible. The chorus features another fantastic element present throughout the album: great usage of vocal harmonies and layering. ‘Lost In Prayer,” and its Gothic tones recall PARADISE LOST with its simple but effective melodies. Can doom metal be catchy? Should it be catchy? I see yes to these questions because SAVIORSKIN proves it can be done and done well. Clean vocals permeate the atmosphere in ‘King Misery,’ another Gothic doom romp but that isn’t afraid to lean into its sound and influences. Clever lead guitar work forms the backbone of the song, everything born out of these Gothic melodies and harmonies. ‘Burning Eden,’ has a guitar tone that is as sinister as the title would suggest. The song slowly crushes as it flows from filtered vocals to death growls,, the music getting heavier as the vocal style progresses along. The last couple of minutes are especially great…a deep growl around the 4:05 mark leads into a clean vocal passage and a slow guitar groove. The death growls return to finish out the song in a big way as it fades into nothing. The last song, ‘Sycophant,’ features MORGOTH’s Marc Grewe on guest vocals…..what a burner! This is definitely the fastest, angriest song on the album and will guarantee to cause whiplash. Even with the obvious death metal influences, the band still keeps the song in line with the album’s atmosphere All in all, this album is a pleasant surprise from a band I have not heard before. This is a solid doom metal album that is quite engaging due to its willingness to set itself apart from other bands in the genre.