Release Date: October 06th 2023. Record Label: MDD Records. Formats: CD/DD
My Veneration - Tracklisting
01. Dead Or Dying
02. Show Them Your Power
03. Lust For Lies
04. Veneration
05. Non Defectum
06. My Veneration
07. Dead And Gone
08. Crooked Smile
09. Heaven Burn
10. Hallowed Be Her Name
11. Digital Lies
12. I Stole Your Love
13. Hole In The Sky
Members
Johnny Kelly - drums
Dan Lorenzo - guitars
Guest Musicians
Karl Agell - vocals
John Kosco - vocals
Mark Sunshine - vocals
Rob Traynor - vocals
DMC - vocals
Gianni Pontillo - vocals
Kelly Abe - vocals
Bobby Jensen - vocals
Ronny Araya - bass
Eric J. Morgan - bass
Anthony Vitti - bass
Dave Neabore - bass
John "JD" DeServio - bass
Emma Smoler - violin
Jonathan Eng - violin
Paul Walter - keys
Scott Mueller - organ
Eddie Heedles - guitar solo
Danny Kelly - guitar solo
Jerry Babcock - back vocals
Review
My Veneration is the new album from Doom/Stoner Rockers Patriarchs In Black with the main creative duo of Dan Lorenzo (Hades and Cassius King) Johnny Kelly (Danzig, Type O Negative and Quiet Riot) return soon after their last album Reach For The Stars released back in 2022. This time round Patriarchs In Black offer a more Hard Rock and Heavy Metal based sound with the Doom/Stoner Metal groundwork allowing My Veneration to be a much richer and rewarding experience. The album contains what feels like a neverending amount of classic Hard Rock riffage with Doomed Out Sludgy guitars throughout. Patriarchs In Black have invited what feels like a world class supply of guest musicians on this album who lend their vocal talents, bass guitars and wicked sounding guitar solos. You can see the impressive roster of guest musicians who appear on this album above.
The record is both classic sounding and modern at the same time. If you love the excess of the 1980's Hard Rock and Heavy Metal scene but with the modern day Doom/Stoner Metal flow then Patriarchs In Black have you covered on all bases. I would normally do a song-by-song review but this time I'm reviewing the album as one whole listening experience with my own personal highlights of the album. Patriarchs In Black have created a gloomy and gothic offering that is perhaps down to Johnny Kelly's time spent with Doom and Gloom legends Type O Negative. However, there is a sense of demented THRASH based fun on other parts of the album with this being a more warped style of Hard Rock, Classic Doom and full-on Stoner Metal.
There's also moments of 90's Grunge attitude and Alt-Metal edginess with a free-flowing creative attitude that allows My Veneration to have a fearsome and aggressive quality especially with the range of different themes and guest musicians that appear on the album. You'll be surprised to hear that Patriarchs In Black play moments of Neurosis style Sludge/Post-Metal but with a seedy grungy sound on some of the standout moments of the album.
Can you call this album an Experimental album? I suppose you could with the wonderful sounding violins that appear most impressively within Veneration which has some HIP-HOP/RAP based vocals. It's not Nu Metal but Patriarchs In Black exploring different areas of music such as Hard Rock, Heavy Metal and Classical Music for a sense of non-stop WTF creative moments that come thick and fast on My Veneration.
Standout tracks to check out: Dead Or Dying, Lust For Lies, Veneration, My Veneration, Hallowed Be Her Name, Digital Lies and Hole In The Sky.
The tracks listed above are the ones I found the most technically impressive and brilliantly insane from a creative standpoint but also one with the finest and craziest grooves. There's thirteen tracks on this album with Patriarchs In Black covering almost every niche of sound under the Hard Rock/Heavy Metal banner. The musical influences you can hear on this album are vast and constantly impressive which Patriarchs In Black could have easily lost their way. However, it's to the band's credit that they've released an excessive, exuberant and over-the-top album that sees Patriarchs In Black become closer to Faith No More, Soundgarden and The Melvins when the album has finished but still retaining the albums own unique vision and heavy sound.
Patriarchs In Black are masters of their own creative domain and this will no doubt entertain the sheer hell who listens to the album.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to MDD Records for the promo.
My Veneration is available to buy on CD/DD now via MDD Records.
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