Dun Ringill – 150 – Where the Old Gods Play – Act 1 Review

I’ve always been supportive of bands branching out a little bit from their comfort zones to stretch their limbs, check out new haunts, or just freshen up their catalog a tad. Sometimes, some peanut butter needs to be added to your chocolate to make things lively and exciting. So when Swedish doom metal sextet Dun Ringill, a band I’ll admit to never having heard before, decided to add some progressive elements to their particular brand of folk doom, well… I was intrigued. I became even more curious when I found out that 150 – Where the Old Gods Play – Act 1 was the first of a two-part concept,¹ doubling down on their creative impulses. Surely, a two-part story based on the manipulation of the church in Scotland during the early 1900s would be fodder for a great album, right?

No. No, it would not. Musically, it’s not terrible, but it’s not exactly great or even memorable. I can’t fault all the musicians for that. Whoever’s handling the lead guitars² is clearly playing his ass off, and is easily the most enjoyable aspect of the songs on display. Also, new drummer Neil Mackay Grant offers some tasty flourishes, even though his over-reliance on the cowbell can be off-putting. Rather, the songwriting never matches the whimsy or splendor of Skyclad, or the impassioned heart or drive of classic Primordial. It’s just… there. None of the seven songs grab you, except for bits of “The Parrish,” and even then, when things get interesting in the song, they’re ruined by a key focal point in Dun Ringill’s arsenal.

That focal point would be the growl-singing of Tomas Eriksson, whose off-key guttural warbles are ever-present and mixed to the absolute fore for reasons I can’t fathom. Whether it’s trying to stretch out one-syllable words or condensing longer words to fit a measure (“The Devil Wears a Papal Tiara”), being off-note by less than a pitch to whoever’s doing the clean vocals (“Nathaniels Hymn”)³⁴, or giving elongated spoken word passages that annoy (“Blood of the Lord”), Eriksson’s voice is easily the worst thing about Act 1 and yet it’s the thing Dun Ringill chose to focus on. The spoiled cream in that coffee goes to opener “Awakening,” where we have two bad vocalists squaring off. Joy.

At least it sounds good. The guitars give off the proper bite, while Patrik Andersson Winberg’s bass sounds warm and full, especially in the beginning of closer “The Last Supper.” Again, though, Eriksson’s voice is mixed way too damn high, upfront, and center at all times, feeling like his voice is squashing everything else. When the worst part of your music is brought to the front, it kills whatever desire I have to hear the rest of your band’s output. This feels like doom’s equivalent of Cradle of Filth, another band whose terrible vocals are at the forefront of their sound.

Expectations can be a pain in the ass, as 150 – Where the Old Gods Play – Act 1 should have been resting comfortably in my wheelhouse o’ doom. Instead, the lackluster songwriting and questionable vocal abilities hamper what should have been an intriguing storyline. Regardless, there’s a silver lining; according to the label’s one-sheet supplied with Act 1, several movie producers have shown great interest in the concept Dun Ringill have exhibited here. I just wish I shared that same passion, as I’ll be skipping Act 2 if this is anything to go by.

Rating: 1.5/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: The Sign Records
Websites: dunringill.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/DunRingillSwe
Release Dates: EU: 2023.08.04 | NA: 09.08.2023