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Well, this certainly was a pleasant surprise. Ten years after For Mircalla, Howie Bentley is treating us to another Briton Rites album, this one by the name of Occulte Fantastique. Briton Rites is Howie's outlet for doom and this album is a monster. Howie has written an amazing collection of riffs and soaked them in the darkest, grimiest reverb he could find such that they rattle your ribs and shake the fillings in your teeth. You need to go back to the first few Black Sabbath records to find doom guitars this awesome. Phil Swanson, and his immediately identifiable and unique voice, is back and he sounds as good as I've heard him sound in a long time. His voice is mostly free of effects (his usual M.O.) and he does a great job selling the dark and melancholy stories told through the evocative lyrics on tracks like "In Hell I Rule" and "The Wizard's Pipe." Bentley varies the tempos throughout Occulte Fantastique and his expert hand helps the album flow effortlessly. The songwriting is intricate and accessible at the same time and I love how the bass (which is beautifully forward in the mix at times) doesn't always just play along with the melody, instead harmonizing with the guitar.

Sure, this is doom metal but even if that is not your favorite genre, this is kick-ass METAL and a must-own album.