Genre: Doom/death metal
Origin: Russia
Released: 2009
Website: Otkroveniya Dozhdya
Label: Solitude Productions
Uploaded: 01.08.09

Ok, so I know Solitude Productions is a Russian label, and the band for this release is also a Russian home-based one. I guess most of their customers/listeners hail from the same humongous country. But damn, couldn�t they at least have included some info in English, anything at all. The entire booklet (band name, track titles, lyrics etc) is in the Cyrillic alphabet so I don�t understand jack shit. At least one sleeve could�ve contained the band name in the Latin alphabet, that�s not too much to ask for. But ok, at least the label�s site has some info for us non-Slavs. Anyway, enough about that. This is the second album by Otkroveniya Dozhdya (which apparently means �revelations of rain�), a band I�ve never heard of before. But so far Solitude Prod. has never disappointed me with a release, so I certainly have high hopes; this label does not sign bullshit acts.
As with most doom metal bands this record is densely emotional, and you�re constantly being thrusted back and forth between despair, melancholy and agony. And that�s even without me understanding any lyrics; they do a damn fine job getting the emotions across solely through the music. There are some classic doom drum patterns to be found here, but they change patterns and varies it throughout each track, so you never have an opportunity to get completely numb. They even speed things up a bit at times, like for instance in Zimnyaya skorb', which makes my mind go towards Pantheist a bit. And I suppose there are a few aspects of Otkroveniya Dozhdya that can be reminiscent of said band, but it�s difficult to label this album with a certain subgenre to doom. They linger somewhere in between pure doom/death and the melodic variant, but at times it�s almost ominous enough to be funeral-esque. Mourning Beloveth comes to mind, but Otkroveniya Dozhdya has a much harsher edge to really be compared to such a melodic act. But they can also suddenly include classic heavy/thrash metal riffing, like in Serym gnevom oseni oblichen. It only lasts for a short while, but still shows for the variation.
Vocally it�s pure growl action with the occasional screams (masterfully performed, might I add, just listen to Sny I � Resheniye) hovering in the background. They have stayed clear off the classic recipe of dual growl/clean vocals, which takes the edge of the melody; hence not making the outcome pure melodic doom/death. They�ve even included keyboards, but it�s so subtlety used that it never becomes overbearing and oozing of melody to ruin the otherwise perfect melancholic atmosphere. The riffing excels in those emotional, agonized melodic lines that you love the genre for. There are tons of times when I go into a catatonic-like state, nodding back and forth, keeping pace with the drum beat and focusing solely on the beautiful guitar lines.
There�s nothing bad to say about their writing or performance skills, as such a monotonous genre is full of variation and nuances here. The record is 64 minutes long, which to me is a little bit too long even for a genre such as this. But nevertheless there�s no trace of fillers, and each riff, beat, keystroke and growl sounds carefully planned, delivering a very skillful album. Sound-wise the thick, hefty production fits the music perfectly, so I can�t find anything in particular (except for some minor issues already mentioned) to complain about. Masterful!

Tracklist:
01. Monolog vechnosti
02. Ya ostalsya zdes'
03. Na prozrachnyh glazah
04. Zimnyaya skorb'
05. Imperia belogo sveta
06. Sny I � Resheniye
07. Sny II � Uzor
08. Sny III - Nash strah
09. Serym gnevom oseni oblichen
10. Monumental'noy tishiny apofeoz