Doomsword

Doomsword is an epic doom metal band from Italy. Founded in 1997 by Deathmaster (previously a member of the metal band Agarthi), the band released their first demo the same year, before going on to release four albums (as of 22 June 2007) . Doomsword mixes the slow, heavy sound of doom metal with the folk-like and battle driven sounds of viking metal. The band announced on November 8, 2007 that they started working on new material for their fifth album. They are currently recording it.
by Eduardo Rivadavia
Italian heavy metal bands tend to be a bit dramatic and overblown (to put it mildly), with leading examples such as Rhapsody and Labyrinth pursuing the symphonic, operatic, or at the very least progressive ends of the compositional spectrum; so the relatively unadorned doom metal championed by the aptly named Doomsword sounds surprisingly refreshing. To be sure, their albums (including a self-titled debut from 1999, 2002's Resound the Horn, and 2003's Let Battle Commence) still contain ambitious lyrical themes dealing with both ancient history and mythology, but vocalist, guitarist, and guiding force Deathmaster has generally resisted many of his countrymen's excesses throughout the band's career and ever-revolving membership.