It’s often hard to describe why someone likes a record, especially those that are only special because there are some details “hidden”. It’s not even necessary that those details take much space to affect your opinion. The Australian musician Terry Vainoras surely understood this, as his project Subterranean Disposition would not stand out of the puddle of doom metal records otherwise.  

Subterranean Disposition was founded last year and yet it still managed to immediately get a label deal with Hypnotic Dirge Records for its selftitled debut record. The majority of the 54:39 minutes, which are divided on five overlong tracks, are filled with classic doom metal, which is streaked with some death metal influences, which can mostly be traced back to the vocals. Why does this record exceed the average qualitative horizon of the genre and what elements helped the record to do the breakthrough?

Well, the first and not really surprising fact is, that this fundament of less innovative but piteous doom is done really well, and that’s one of the most important facts, as the fundament is the most important thing about a record. The songs are mostly held in midtempo and defined through a soundscape of heavy and dragging guitars that are combined with slow drums. This fundament is spiced up by several melodies that shines through every once in a while and/or a steady interchange of clean vocals in the style of My Dying Bride or death metal like growls like the ones of Opeth or In Mourning. This basic fundament would have been enough for this record to be quite attractive as the songs are quite immersive from the scratch, but it’s quite clear that the songs need some alterations as they are at least over 8 minutes long.

These variations are both, boon and bane of the record. We start, as usual, with the good sides: The record features recurring soli, some slightly electronic influences or samples that spice things up, while the big surprises like the female vocals in Prolong this Agony and Wailing My Keen are the additional icing on the cake. These female vocals could be described as a mixture of the ones of Ayreon and Draconian, but they definitely are a question of taste. The, without a single doubt, best moment of the record clearly is the middle section of The Most Subtle Storm, which features a saxophone, which adds a nice jazzy note to the song. This single song/moment would be enough to recommend the record as a whole, but the interplay of slow doom and faster death metal passages are really nice as well.

Sadly, there are some alterations that are hard to endure, at least if you aren’t a hardcore doom fan. For instance the song Seven Sisters Of Sleep tries to live up to it’s name, as there is a really verbose passage. This song isn’t the only one with such a verbose passage and so there are quite some boring structures or unnecessary pauses. The last greater point of criticism are the artificial drums, although they used some good sounds, but the steady equality is quite demanding.

I guess everything was said before: Subterranean Disposition did release quite a brilliant record, although there are some flaws. A solid fundament formed by doom/death metal elements, which could be described as a mixture of My Dying Bride and In Mourning, is spiced up with some experiments like the saxophone in The Most Subtle Of Storms. You should just risk an ear and at least listen to the aforementioned song. If you don’t like this one, you wouldn’t like anything from the record.