Doomocracy is a Greek metal band hailing from the island of Crete. “Unorthodox” is their third studio work, an album that showcases their ability to deliver epic doom metal in the vein of Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus, Memonto Mori, Abstrakt Algebra and Memory Garden. This time the band has embellished its sound with choirs, symphonic, melodic, atmospheric and eastern elements, making the final outcome even more interesting. The album tells a story the establishment of the Gregorian calendar that was introduced in October 1582.
The album was recorded at Devasoundz Studios in Athens, Greece with additional recordings at Groove Studio in Heraklion, Crete, Greece. It was mixed & mastered by Simon Johansson (Memory Garden, Wolf) and Mike Wead (King Diamond, Mercyful Fate) at SolnaSound Studio in Stockholm, Sweden. The special guests include Mike Wead (King Diamond, Mercyful Fate, Memento Mori) playing a guitar solo on “Catharsis”, Miguel Robaina (ex-Memento Mori) performing keyboards on 4 songs (“The Spiritualist”, “Novum Dogma”, “Our Will Be Done”, “Catharsis”) and Sakis Bandis (Hail Spirit Noir, Horizon’s End) performing piano on “The Hidden Gospel”. Cover art is a painting of Mariusz Lewandowski (RIP), known for covers of albums for bands such as Atlantean Kodex, Bell Witch and Obituary among others. The mixing and production are excellent, resulting in a polished and powerful album.
“Unorthodox” will help the band break off from the underground scene and gain exposure to a wider audience, as well as possibly bigger music labels. They definitely deserve it after all of their hard work over the years. Michael’s vocals are excellent, as are the heavy guitars and the solid rhythm section. Doomocracy have added their own personal touches to the epic doom metal, which makes this album distinct and exciting. If you fancy doom metal and the aforementioned bands, you should check out this album.