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Infirmum's sole member Timo Solonen has been a part of the Finnish Metal scene since the '90s, yet never really got anything off the ground due to military obligations. Decades later, after watching Paradise Lost live, he was inspired to try again, this time with a dream to bring back '90s Doom/Death in all its depressive glory. With his debut Walls of Sorrow, I'd say he's taken a hell of a big step in making that dream come true.

The album draws on expected influences like Sabbath, Paradise Lost, and My Dying Bride while mixing in that uniquely sorrowful melodic sensibility you can only really call Finnish. The songwriting on this is very mature, as is to be expected from someone with Timo's experience, and I'd believe it if you told me this was a lost gem from the '90s. From the straightforward tracks like the hypnotic, nearly rocking opener "To Darkness" and the crushing heaviness of "Cause of Sorrow" to the more sorrowful atmospheric numbers like "Shadows of the Past" and "Autumn Breeze", Timo proves himself to be a lost songwriting talent that just needed the time and the opportunity to make his creative vision heard. He even mixes things up with the Paradise Lost-esque songs "Silence" and "Sail Away'', which wouldn't sound too out of place on Sentenced's Amok.

The current age of revival acts has been nothing but a blessing to the genre, and this album is a prime example of that. Fans of early Doom/Death will want to get ahold of this. As for me, I'll be keeping an eye on what Timo does next, and you should be doing the same.