If there is something that gives satisfaction in the work of dissemination of the music I love, promoted through this blog, it is the possibility of discovering almost daily realities of considerable artistic depth that in the magnum sea of releases risk ending up in oblivion. Druids of Eld is the solo project of Australian Matt Dodds who, as far as it is possible to find on the net, had never in the past approached doom metal with decision and, given the results, it is really good that he decided to do so; A Day of Sorrow is an ep composed of four tracks, plus a short, evocative interlude, in which Dodds shows that he not only has a clear idea of how to approach melodic death doom, but also possesses the compositional talent necessary to offer a scant half-hour of music full of highly intense cues. The musician from Melbourne also deftly performs in various vocal ranges, giving variety and peculiarity to the whole, but what is most striking is the enveloping strength that distinguishes the more robust parts, with growl and heavy riffing that are supported by a really incisive melodic substrate; the title track, placed at the end of the album, has the merit of showing in one go the many nuances of the Druids of Eld sound, all functional to the performance of a first work of surprising quality.

2023 – Independent