After dealing a few months ago with the excellent funeral doom debut album by the Georgians Ennui, here is another band from Tbilisi appearing on the scene : No Regrets. The two bands are united by the presence in the lineup of the talented Serj Shengelia who, while in the partnership with David Unsaved takes care of several instruments but not of the vocal parts, in No Regrets he plays guitar and lends his growl to the success of the work. Where The Sky And Sea Collide is really a great record, under the banner of a death doom that is anything but predictable, drawing inspiration not so much from the more romantic and decadent side of the genre, typical of the Anglo-Saxon school, but from the darker, guitar-oriented style from overseas, which currently sees Daylight Dies as the greatest exponents. In the sound of the Georgians, keyboards play a clever accompanying role without ever standing out as cumbersome protagonists, leaving to the guitars the task of sketching out passages of great emotional impact that creep under the skin only after repeated listening, demonstrating the depth of the work of Serj and associates. Emblematic in this sense are the twelve minutes in total of the two tracks Dreary Awakening and Hypnotize, Enslaved Beings, to be listened to almost as if they were a single body, such is the dark and melancholic mood that unites them. A record that in certain moments perhaps shows some small smears, compensated greatly by the compositional freshness, often the prerogative of bands emerging from countries with a recently acquired metal tradition. More than recommended listening, then, to fans of the genre eager to expand their knowledge of music and broaden the range of bands worthy of special attention.

2013 -Metal Renaissance Records