Track Listing:
01. When Beauty Stops to Amaze
02. Requiem of Fallen Leaves
03. They Will Be Done
04. In Strick of the Sunset

Rated:
8.5 / 10

Total Play Time:
45:51

Band's Webpage

Russia’s latest entry into the doom metal scene is Non Immemor Mei, a band that like many of its Russian contemporaries, has its share of question marks. After listening to the album Non Immemor Mei, the questions surrounding the musical talent are answered in resounding fashion, but unless you can read and translate Cyrillic efficiently, the rest of the questions will remain just that.

Even before putting the CD into the player, the immediate problem of being unable to read Cyrillic brought about some mystery as to what the band sounds like, let alone what they’re actually trying to sing. Because the Russian label Musica Production released this album, getting to know about the band proves to be even more difficult. So with those things in mind, I decided it was best to let the music speak for itself. The first track, When Beauty Stops to Amaze, sets the tone for what the listener should expect from the band. Haunting melodies and slow growling vocals dominate the first two tracks, which never seem to expand its horizons beyond certain music parameters, at least vocally. This is surprising, given the time length in which each had to work from. Once They Will Be Done plays, the listener is treated not only to clean vocals mixed in with low growls, but they are also treated to lyrics being sung in English, surprising since the rest of the album is sung in Russian. The last track expands even more by incorporating female vocals into the mix. Many could say that Requiem of Fallen Leaves is nothing more than an experimental album, but when each song goes over the ten minute mark, one can afford to do so, especially when all the elements can blend in together effortlessly as Non Immemor Mei proves.

By no means is Non Immemor Mei going to be considered the best doom metal act today and certainly, Requiem of Fallen Leaves is far from being the perfect doom metal album ever. However, the band makes at least a respectable debut with many things and ideas that they could build from in order to be a better doom metal band. I would like to see if the band is better equipped to handle more songs in English as opposed to their native tongue, but for right now, the formula they have going seems to work just fine.