Symphony of Grief - Symphony of Grief

It strikes me as rather odd that with all of the Incantation dick hopping that's been going on as of late, Symphony of Grief have remained as obscure as ever. With bands such as Ritual Necromancy, Father Befouled, Encoffination (Yes, you sound like Incantation. Get over it), Vasaeleth, Dead Congregation and  Embrace of Thorns (among MANY others) all nibbling, er, rather, GORGING on Incantation's grizzled cock and all other things decrepit and "old school", I'm rather disappointed that Incant's fellow Jersey death/doomsters, SOG have been neglected yet again.

With all of the newfound interest in all things Scandinavian, Canadian, Floridian, Australian, German, etc al... I feel as if its my civic duty to bring to light the true home of crepitus doom/death.... New Jersey!! You read it right. New Jersey. Think about it. Disma, Incantation, Disciples of Mockery, Solemn, Evoken, Heirophant,  Deteriorot, Funebrarum, Entrapment and Symphony of Grief to name a few. Am I wrong? I didn't think so.There is truly something rotten in the state of New Jersey and for some odd reason, people wish to ignore it and pretend that it's not there. Not I. I have long followed the toxic exploits of death metal's most hideous and foul faction of sewage mongers, and Symphony of Grief is one of Jersey's finest.

SOG's style is not far removed from that of Incantation's glory years, which is fine by me. That happens to be a style that I hold dear to my rotten heart and anyone else who agrees can consider me a friend. I used to think that SOG were purposely going for that rancid Incant sound, until I began to realize that many bands from that area have a similar vibe. I suddenly realized that it must be all of the toxic waste that has been absorbed into every conceivable element throughout the state, from NYC down to Philly. Listen to early Evoken or Heirophant or even Mortal Decay's 'Grisly Aftermath' and 'Brutalizing Creations' demos. Brewing low tuned doom/death is second nature for the folks from NJ. SOG are no exception.

You need to do yourself and the band a favor and check out their new self titled ep, which dropped just last year.  It is just as good as anything that they released back in the 90's and if you prefer the gloomier, slower aspect of Incantation's earlier work than you'll ravenously eat this up as this is authentic and essential death/doom from New Jersey done the right way. Vocalist Andy Markert proves that Craig Pillard isn't the only person in Jersey that can growl as low as the depths of Hell. Supreme.