Hailing from New Zealand and Australia, today we have a very unique and exciting debut release titled “Spleen”, from the outfit Orphans of Dusk. Featuring a very interesting old-school Gothic/Doom Metal sound, this band delivers nine tracks and nearly one hour of well crafted and completely Doomy music. If you are a fan of End of Green, Yearning, Type O Negative, and similar outfit, this release will appeal to you.

The album starts creating a somber and mysterious atmosphere, with a certain theatrical and very gothy edge. The riffing onslaught really begins with the tuned-down beginning of “Wasted Hero” and Chris G’s deep and enigmatic vocals. Like a mixture of Michelle Darkness (End of Green) and Peter Steele, his vocals are quite engaging as they morph between clean and harsh in songs like the extremely catchy “I’m Going To Haunt You (When I Die)” and “Aurora Australis”.

With tracks like “Spleen” having excellent atmospherics, reminding us of Yearning, the band creates a very unique blend of elements that make this release quite diverse and engaging. Songs like “Victim of a Vampire” perfectly showcase the band’s creative juices as it features intricate tempo changes and some catchy melodic passages. While “Magic Keys” is a weird atmospheric piece that sets up the closing of this release.

Saving the best of (nearly) last, “Falling Star” is certainly the album's catchiest and most memorable track, and we love it! Overall, “Spleen” is a very unique and engaging release that will appeal to old-school fans of Gothic/Doom Metal. The band’s music is very diverse and thanks to a signature vocalist they have all the elements to be unique and noticed in a sea of copy-cats. If you are missing the good old days of Type O Negative, mid-period Lacrimas Profundere, and End of Green, look no further and get into Orphans of Dusk.

Rating: 92/100