TodoMal's latest album, Graveyards of Joy, is a doom metal epic that channels the desolate beauty of Spanish landscape painter Lluís Rigalt's masterpiece, Ruines. The album is a continuation of a trilogy, with a focus on personal tragedy and the hope of something better. While doom metal is often associated with melancholy and dread, TodoMal manages to infuse their music with a sense of joy and light, creating a cohesive and uplifting listening experience. The album's production is bright and rich, giving life to every instrument and providing a rich texture to the acoustic folk playing. The band's aims are clearly laid out from the start, with a focus on hope and light, and they manage to marry these dichotomous themes into a cohesive whole. The album's highlights, such as 'Mare Ignis', 'Unholy', and 'Humanised Gods', are beacons of light in an otherwise pleasant, but occasionally placid, sea of sound. Even the more forgettable cuts, like 'Misericordiah' and 'For Mercy', are rejuvenated by the bright production job. Overall, Graveyards of Joy is a beautiful listening experience, a fine canvas of doom metal rendered in strokes of uplifting color that resonates with an almost religious or spiritual energy. The album is a testament to TodoMal's ability to create a cohesive and uplifting listening experience, even in the face of personal tragedy and the darkness of doom metal. In my opinion, this album is a must-listen for fans of doom metal and progressive metal, and it is a testament to the power of music to uplift and inspire, even in the face of darkness.
