Marble Orchard - Ruminations of Ruin

Marble Orchard is a doom metal band from San Antonio, Texas who formed in 2023, although they apparently went by Goat Bong for a number of years before that.  Their latest release, “Ruminations of Ruin,” is their second full-length album.  

My mind doesn’t think of Texas when it comes to anything Gothic but maybe it should because Marble Orchard straight up nails the sound of Gothic doom on this album.  It’s dark, gloomy, depressing and even a little theatrical.  Gothic doom was the first type of doom that I got into so maybe I’m just a sucker for this sound.  But to be honest, there is a lot to like about this album. 

First, it’s extremely catchy.  I mean, I wasn’t walking around humming these odes to crawling darkness but every song did stick into my brain.  There are so many great riffs and powerful rhythms in this album—replay value is IMMENSE.

Every song is good and none are overly long so it’s definitely one of those albums you can put on and enjoy from start to finish, despite its stark and bleak nature.   I could sit here and type out all the bands that obviously influenced their sound but I think they still manage to have their own fresh approach to the style.

I like the production too—very spacious and deep, it holds everything well and nothing has to fight for space.   Their metallum page shows three members but the lineup appears to be just one person–regardless, it has a big, full sound. 

The band’s prowess on their instruments is immediately stated on the opening instrumental song, “Contemplating the Garden of Gethsemane.”  This is the perfect opener/intro to the album because it sets the tone of the record early and is a full length song—so many intros are short and go nowhere, whereas this is one of the better instrumentals I’ve heard this year. 

The following song “Engraven,” introduces us to Dirty Mike’s deep, rich clean vocals.  His voice is very well suited to this style.  The delivery/cadence of his lyrics are insanely catchy and flow so goddamn well with the music.  This song displays how well everything is mixed together.

Their sound tends to be rather melodic, in a dour way of course.  However, there are more than enough moments, such as “When Night Gives Way To Day,” where the heavy-handed riffs soak into the atmosphere like blood into the ground.  This song rocks pretty hard but still sounds doomy, ominous and even a little horrific.  I love the twin guitar harmonies too, icing on this black frosted cake. 

One of the best songs on the album is “A Life Not Worth Living.” There is a certain urgent energy to this song that manages to work with the doomed out atmosphere rather than against it.  Once again, it’s catchy as hell and this one one took days to leave my brain.  The drums/bass are very complimentary to the riffs—everything comes together on this song and I would say it is the best example on the entire album of what the band was wanting to accomplish. 

Immediately after is “Anti-Mirth (Anhedonia),” another one of my favorites.  The temple is a little faster on this one and the riffs are unrelenting with a steady gallop.  The keys and vocals double down on the Gothic textures, covering the entire song in an incredible atmosphere even while it remains heavy as hell. 

“Seven Swords, Seven Sorrows,” and “Come Wander With Me,” are the final two songs and I can’t think of a better way to end the album.  The band pulls out all the stops on the former, offering a mini-dirge of everything that makes Gothic doom so emotive and potent.  The latter could be considered a ballad I suppose, what with its minimalistic approach and simple structure.  But it’s a haunting ending to a stellar album. 

Albums like “Ruminations of Ruin” make me feel like the heyday of the genre is still at its height—-and maybe it never really left, if this album is any evidence.  Any fan of Gothic and/or doom metal music needs this on their wishlist NOW. 

Rating:  Excellent