Back in the mid-90’s there was an explosion of Doom/Death Metal bands cropping up globally. This is when I first discovered early Cathedral and My Dying Bride from the United Kingdom. At the time I just associated the genre with the U.K., however; a friend handed me a tape for the debut release from Novembers Doom. They were American and I thought this couldn’t be, but low and behold the sound was unmistakably unique. I ended up buying their sophomore release Of Sculptured Ivy And Stone Flowers and really got into them at the time. I will admit though, after a time I stopped listening to them for a number of years now, but I’m giving their latest release Major Arcana a spin to review for Allfather Metal.

With this being the band’s twelfth studio album and first new record in six years, I was very curious to know how they sounded. Utilizing the talents of Dan Swano (Edge Of Sanity fame) for mixing and mastering duties, the band power through a journey of dark progressive folk, with touches of death metal and doom. It’s a rather eclectic blend, but highly effective sound as a whole.

The album starts off with a short instrumental track entitled ‘June’, aided by some haunting piano to set a sombre tone. Then we get the title track ‘Major Arcana’ roaring into focus with a bevy of sprawling textures and awe-inspiring vocals from Paul Kuhr. I just love how the next track brutalizes the tone of ‘Ravenous’ and sets up a vibe of utter despair. The vocals are nasty as hell, but the guitars rip everything up. The tandem of Larry Roberts on lead and Vito Marchese on rhythm carve up music that is crushingly heavy. You do get some diversity on this release with a slower effort on ‘Mercy’, but track five ‘The Dance’ answers back with a robust beat and some energetic hooks. Those guitars just soar high, but give off a modern Maiden vibe in my estimation. I liked the energetic tone of ‘The Fool’ because they sprinkle the number with a 70’s progressive rock beat, and remain brutally hard on heaping amounts of death and doom.

The standout track is ‘Bleed Static’ clocking in just a little over eight minutes. It’s an epic song filled with dark soundscapes and shocking twists and turns throughout. I can’t imagine a better song here, that is until you hear the opening moments of ‘Chatter’ and realize how superfluous those guitars sound. The tone is big and monstrous and musically a dark masterpiece.

I wondered if this album could get any better, and yet ‘Dusking Day’ proves the hooks are no fluke and the deathly tone sounds killer to this reviewer’s ears. We end the album off on ‘XXII’ with a brutal death chug that channels classic Bolt Thrower and peppers in some Solitude Aeturnus for good measure. If I had to describe the album to music fans, I would say it’s a cross of Type O Negative, Amorphis, My Dying Bride and a little Solitude Aeturnus tossed into a blender to get a very unique sound of death/doom. There’s also elements of progressive folk, 70’s rock and an array of ethereal soundscapes that really season the sound of a band aiming to create dark metal of the highest order. I’m glad I came back to this band all these years later to see how they fared, and I can safely say they are doing just fine. Check them out if you get the chance and get a little Major Arcana going into your life.

Release Date: September 19th, 2025
Prophecy Productions
Reviewed By: Kenneth Gallant 
Review Score: 8