If there is one worldwide metal scene that has consistently been delivering the most interesting and well-rounded new releases lately, it would be the epic heavy and doom metal scene. Maybe it’s because this type of music just requires a certain deal of attention given to the compositions and arrangements, but nearly every album released by a band from this scene – veteran and new – at the very least crosses a certain quality threshold. Professor Emeritus’ ‘A Land Long Gone’, does more than just that. It is a fantastic piece of heavy metal that sounds atmospheric whilst only relying on riffs and melodies.

What I mean by that is that Professor Emeritus did not have to resort to adding layers of keyboards an programming to give the music on ‘A Land Long Gone’ its sweeping grandeur. Even on sections that would tempt the average epic doom metal band to add such layers – the second half of ‘Pragmatic Occlusion’ comes to mind – the Chicago-based quintet relies solely on great melodies, dramatic harmonies, surprisingly passionate lead guitar work and, perhaps just as importantly, space in the arrangements to get its atmosphere across. Sure, there is a Hammond outro, but it’s the band that creates the scene throughout.

Having said that, epic doom metal is not the best moniker for the music Professor Emeritus makes here. The average tempo is a tad too high to confidently call ‘A Land Long Gone’ doom metal, most of the songs being mid-tempo, and the guitar riffs by Lee Smith and Tyler Antram occasionally lean towards early Fates Warning, though without the irregular meters. Newcomer Esteban Julian Pena does bring a certain doom metal theatricality to the vocal department, though never for the sake of it. The acoustic first half of ‘Hubris’ is evidence of how well he can carry the emotional gravitas a song calls for.

Other highlights include ‘Conundrum’, which starts out as the most aggressive, pulsating song on the record, only to pack a surprising amount of dynamics into its four minutes of running time, and the gorgeously melancholic riffing of ‘Defeater’. The excellent ‘Passage’ is probably the closest thing to traditional heavy metal the album has to offer, while opening track ‘A Corpse’s Dream’ does a perfect job of introducing Professor Emeritus’ quite varied sound in a relatively concise package – although it’s still eight minutes long. ‘Kalopsia Caves’ is the closest the band comes to traditional doom metal here, and it is the perfect epic closing track.

The only thing on ‘A Land Long Gone’ that I’m not a big fan of is the drum sound, and the snare drum in particular. Everything else – the compositions, the vocals, the riffs, the melodies, the arrangements – serves as a reminder that the epic heavy/doom metal scene might just be experiencing its finest years right now. With Professor Emeritus’ far above average compositions leaning ever so slightly towards the “heavy” side of that equation, ‘A Land Long Gone’ is a must-hear for anyone who enjoyed the likes of Doomocracy, Argus, Crypt Sermon, and Vendel in recent years.

Recommended tracks: ‘Passage’, ‘Defeater’, ‘A Corpse’s Dream’