Everyone has a to do list. Mine includes the item “listen to more doom metal”. That’s why when I saw we had promo from a stoner doom band named Cancervo, I stuck my hand up. I could guess that III was their third album and that was just about all I knew. It was all I needed to know. Since then I have learned that Cancervo are from Italy, they are named after a mountain rich in folklore, and they play straight up, no messing, fuzzed out doom metal.
This is what I asked for.
After the high drama of the church organs on “Intro”, Cancervo settle down to business. What follows is a trim 30 minutes of mid-paced 70s riffs and portentous croaky vocals, buried so deep in the mix they sound like a madman trying to utter prophecies of doom from a very remote dungeon. Liking III is all about whether you buy into that atmosphere and sound. I do so all is well but even so, I can’t help but wish this was a little more varied. Sometimes there’s a wailing guitar solo but other than that and the spacey interlude on last track “Red Pig”, it’s all variations on the same theme. That lack of contrast in sound and tempo means everything sounds a bit predictable and nothing truly stands out. The doom riffs coming back in on “Red Pig” are the best part of III and a few more moments like that would have lifted everything considerably.
My head was frequently nodding along through III‘s runtime. It’s a solid album that’s fun to listen to. It just doesn’t really become more than solid or stick in the head because it delivers what you expect, for better and for worse. What Cancervo has delivered should scratch the itch for everyone looking for some new stoner/doom metal, but I don’t know how many people are going to find it does much more than that.
