Tomorrow’s Rain – Ovdan
Release Date: 19th April 2024
Label: AOP Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Doom Metal, Gothic Metal.
FFO: Swallow The Sun, My Dying Bride, Katatonia, Paradise Lost.
Review By: Andy Spoon
Tomorrow’s Rain is set to release their eclectic doom album Ovden on April 19th, 2024 on AOP records. The album features an array of influences from traditional Eastern European and Israeli music with the harshness of death and death/doom bans in what amounts to be an energetic listen with numerous mind-tickling moments and instrumental meanderings that feel innovative and thoughtful. I generally think that this is an album for fans of doom metal and progressive or folk metal who like the storytelling aspect of the product.
Lead vocalist Yishai Sweeartz recounts several important factors leading into the production and writing of the album, most-importantly a medical brush with death which led him to being hospitalized for a number of weeks in cardiac intensive care. As a major part of the development of Sweeartz’s recent memory, combined with the pain of the COVID years and the pressure of creating, Tomorrow’s Rain was subject to new inspiration for songwriting that comes from a personal place of drought and frustration, ultimately giving a fruitful foundation of the melancholy and dissonance that makes for a strong doom metal album.
One of the things that stands out is the variation on the clean vocal and instruments with the heavier, darker side of the same. Most of the tracks are long and storylike, usually having low, quiet moments, before ending or moving into crescendo or resolve. Each track generally has a musical phrase or chord pattern that starts a long melodic chain of patterns which ultimately cause the flow of each track to take shape. The sound isn’t necessarily a progressive tone, but it takes from the multidisciplinary aspect of prog metal bands, in that the folksy, clean-to-dirty aspects are well-covered.
I think that the vocal range and delivery reminds me quite a bit of the Type O Negative, dark and chesty clean vocals, which have a great delivery for the doom-y aspect of the band’s overall tone. I think that with the long, edgy narratives that are presented, the deep, drone-y chest tone goes well with the clean piano and heavier guitar. It all lends itself to a great juxtaposition which develops into a moody mix, something that satisfies the entire point of doom metal in the first place. The waltzy-folksy classical pieces and movements are only icing on the cake that Tomorrow’s Rain often creates in its better tracks.
There are some interludes that are peaceful, or allude to the fear of being hospitalized for a life-threatening condition. There’s no doubt that the band wants to include some of the Israeli influences of folksy-music and middle-eastern influences. I think that there’s definitely a place for those tones and sentiments. While that part of the world is mired in controversy right now, I don’t feel like there is anything of the political nature in the album. I was worried, having reviewed this in mid-2024, as there is conflict brewing across battle lines in the middle-east. However, I didn’t pick up on any motifs that brought me any pause. I’m really hoping that the conflict doesn’t stymie the band’s attempt to create their artwork.
Overall, I think that the album is thoughtful, thematically-sound, and features moments of deep-reflection with its lyrical content and doom-y dirge. Tomorrow’s Rain is a band whose art might be affected by the part of the world they live in. I certainly hope that fans of the genre don’t pass up the opportunity to check out Ovdan for its complexity and balance.
(3 / 5)
