“I’ve made it no secret that I don’t love doom metal so much as respect it from a sizable distance, but certain acts have been known to prompt genuine affection. My criteria for good doom is admittedly opaque, with my two favorite albums of this decade residing in opposite ends of the genre’s sonic spectrum, but I think it boils down to a general feeling of genuineness. If you’re going to fuck around with pretentious atmospherics against a backdrop of flaccid, groove-less riffs, you’ll get no respect from me. It’s really all about the heart, with ingenuity being secondary to pure fun and overflowing emotion. And that’s where Toronto, Ontario’s Smoulder, and the excellently titled Times of Obscene Evil and Wild Daring, come in.” Smoke signals.
