Ah yes, traditional American Doom Metal. There’s a bunch of acolytes of this style out there in the metal multiverse. Until recently, many of them were overhyped to hell and back through breathless reporting that often became incoherent after a while.
Bands like Khemmis or Pallbearer were never quite able to slake this crew’s unholy thirst for real, tear-drenched doom with blood mixed into their fear-induced sweat, noisomely drenching their band shirts. You know, tribulation writ large. Of the kind you will mostly find with European-style doom acts. A scarce commodity to be had with US outfits. There are exceptions, of course. But more to that later.
The RMR crew never heard of Professor Emeritus. And how could we? Their debut record dates back to 2017, and it sailed straight past our review pipe at a time when the zine was still young. And since then, nada. So, here we got ourselves the band’s sophomore effort called A Land Long Gone1 after some 8 years or so.
PE‘s fare somewhat oscillates between Stygian Crown and the late musings of Crypt Sermon. Now, the former is indeed a US doom act in its prime, borrowing a lot of their wares from bands active on the lands across the great watery divide. And that sets them apart somewhat from what we often get from North America. But, A Land Long Gone indeed exudes this uneasy odor of mainstream US doom, albeit a very well-executed one, and the influences are many. Candlemass, Argus, the Swedes from Sorcerer, all of those suddenly appear in your mind as you progress down the tracklist. You’ll get these odd and slightly oriental vibes that most modern Doom Metal bands adorn themselves with. That sadboi affair rolls in on a relatively measured pace that – I reckon – should further underline abject melancholy but won’t.
An oddity on A Land Long Gone surely is the extensive use of Heavy Metal woven into their grief-stricken fabric. For long stretches of the play, Professor Emeritus’ new vocalist Esteban Julian Pena sounds like some eerie offshoot of Iron Maiden‘s Dickinson from a different universe. A performance that won’t hit all the right notes at once, which didn’t exactly inspire confidence over at RMR Central. One could excuse this away with mentions of typical doom-esque wailing, but the warbling excuse won’t work here. In fact, this sounds like the aforementioned Stygian Crown from times past when they didn’t quite cut it yet. A fault these folks corrected in the meantime.
That said, and apart from the somewhat weirdly competing blend of Heavy and ‘Traditional’ Doom Metal, A Land Long Gone pretty much sports outstanding musical prowess. Don’t believe me? Well, just start with the powerful A Corpse’s Dream that encapsulates the essence of the record to a large degree. Or hit up the harmonious Passage and find the outstanding solo hiding in there. You also may want to enjoy the pretty majestic, slow marching doomy groove on Pragmatic Occlusion. A track that also contains one of the greatest solos on this here record.
But never forget Hubris, the filet piece of the record. Folksy and harmonious in nature at first, it devolves into a tour-de-force of what this band o’ brothers is capable of. I mean, the guitar work on this track truly blew us away. This is just next level with yet another Pink Floyd-ish lavish solo that this here crew couldn’t get enough of. It looks like that A Land Long Gone finds it glue in outstanding guitar work with drum patterns to dream of.
On the downside, the drive and focus somewhat waned towards the end of the album. Proof positive, Conundrum didn’t really impress us with its listless galloping about the soundscape to no end. So, in essence the RMR crew found the mystery part of the piece that left us puzzled. And – at the same time – this also pulled down the somewhat overly lengthy Kalopsia Caves with its somewhat endless meandering about the soundscape.
Finally though, A Land Long Gone turned into a good record, but no great one. The record is full of musically astute Doom ov The Light. Well-crafted metal that meets often outstanding musicianship. Quite unsurprisingly so, once we found a couple of Black Site’s long-gone former members in the lineup. Yet, there’s an awkward divide between the Doom Metal part and the urges to ride the pale horse of Heavy Metal. You get the pseudo-oriental vibes those oriental musings à la Crypt Sermon American doomsters think they need to include.2 On the other side, all maidens will be left behind by the vigor the band displays to show what they can do. But those two never mingle too well, and that killed the proverbial cat.
The aforementioned Sorcerer would be a pretty good example of how Epic Doom Metal could or even should sound. In contrast, Professor Emeritus still has work to do. They surely have the chops to nail that one just fine.
But for now, they’re missing out.
Record Rating: 6/10 | Label: No Remorse Records | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 13 June 2025