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With a name taken from Candlemass, I expected this to be a Doom album, and I was not wrong. Gothic Stone are an Italian band who get points for not trying too hard to sound like their idols, but also for being a pretty damned good band. Cuts like "Caereris Mundus (The Necromancer)" and "Luciferian Dawn" ooze with old-school Doom vibes without sounding dated in the least. The instrumental "The Time Lord" is a metal reworking of the fucking Dr Who theme, rather than anything to do with classic Pagan Altar, which I found disappointing. The production is solid, the riffs are good, and the vocals are by ex-Doomsword singer "Nightcomer" Grilli, who honestly gives the best performance of his career on this album. All in all, this is one to watch.